Emerging Developments in Clinical Decision Support Systems
The idea of applying computer to the clinical decision making process is not new. In 1970’s G. Octo Barnett first reported on efforts with decision support in an early medical record system, Computer-stored ambulatory record (COSTAR). The idea was also one of the key elements of the Institute of Medicine’s 1997 charge to the industry to adopt computer-based patient records. In 2004 the Federal Government promoted the importance of electronic medical records (EMRs) in the American health care system. Since then, there has been an increasing but slow adoption of health Information Technology (HIT) and Electronic Health Record (EHR).
EHRs are providing a wealth of information to researchers and physicians, and early adopters have begun to integrate clinical decision support systems (CDSS), which are gaining grown recognition in health care. CDSS is a sophisticated health IT component and the greater number of applications operates as components of comprehensive …show more content…
The American Hospital Association data shows that use of EHR systems in U.S. hospitals increased to 44% in 2012, three times the level in 2010. This huge increase in adopting EHR has led to vast amounts of patient data entering the digital field. An analysis in 2009 shows that 32% of medical errors were due to insufficient time for patient evaluation, resulting in less precise diagnosis, prioritizing or weighing less significant analyses, or not recognizing urgency or seriousness . These numbers suggest that current EHRs are rich with information and data points but have not improved knowledge or understanding. These issues pick out and emphasize the need for EHR-based CDSS to translate clinical data points and information into knowledge that can be readily used and understood by
The idea of applying computer to the clinical decision making process is not new. In 1970’s G. Octo Barnett first reported on efforts with decision support in an early medical record system, Computer-stored ambulatory record (COSTAR). The idea was also one of the key elements of the Institute of Medicine’s 1997 charge to the industry to adopt computer-based patient records. In 2004 the Federal Government promoted the importance of electronic medical records (EMRs) in the American health care system. Since then, there has been an increasing but slow adoption of health Information Technology (HIT) and Electronic Health Record (EHR).
EHRs are providing a wealth of information to researchers and physicians, and early adopters have begun to integrate clinical decision support systems (CDSS), which are gaining grown recognition in health care. CDSS is a sophisticated health IT component and the greater number of applications operates as components of comprehensive …show more content…
The American Hospital Association data shows that use of EHR systems in U.S. hospitals increased to 44% in 2012, three times the level in 2010. This huge increase in adopting EHR has led to vast amounts of patient data entering the digital field. An analysis in 2009 shows that 32% of medical errors were due to insufficient time for patient evaluation, resulting in less precise diagnosis, prioritizing or weighing less significant analyses, or not recognizing urgency or seriousness . These numbers suggest that current EHRs are rich with information and data points but have not improved knowledge or understanding. These issues pick out and emphasize the need for EHR-based CDSS to translate clinical data points and information into knowledge that can be readily used and understood by