Question

Discuss how clinical decision support systems assist in the practice of medicine.

Answer 1

Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) is a support system which will help the clinician in clinical decision making. It is based on health information system.

CDSS will analyze the patient details and information and suggest relevant decisions about patient care including clinical interventions and also provide timely clinical reminders.

CDSS can be used in different ways like electronic medical record, internet, PC etc.There should be an interaction between clinician and CDSS like giving patient data (input) and receiving the clinical suggestions from CDSS (output ). The clinician can select the relevant information and discard erroneous recommendations.

CDSS helps the clinicians in the following ways :

1. Analyze the patient data and reach diagnosis : help to prepare diagnosis, review and narrow down diagnosis, predict future events

2. Help in triage i.e. : provide recommendations to prioritize the medical care for the patient

3. Suggest next steps for treatment

4. Give alerts to the data which clinicians missed

5. Identify potential problems

6. Help in drug dose calculations

7. Give reminders for medicine administration and dose changes

8. Identify and suggest required medical screening

9. Eliminate unnecessary diagnostic tests

10. Increase patient safety

11. Avoid complications

12. Help to improve patient outcomes

13. Improve quality of care

14. Lower the cost of care and reduce patient inconveniences.

Thus CDSS can serve a lot in the practice of meficine. It is to be integrated with clinical practice, provided it must be combined with efficient and effective practitioner expertise.