Relationship of estimated resolution time and computerized clinical reminder adherence

Electronic decision support systems are an important tool for improving performance and improving quality of care. We investigated the relationship between physicians' estimated resolution times for computerized clinical reminders and adherence rates in VA outpatient settings. We surveyed 10 expert physician users to assess the resolution times of four targeted CCRs for three cases: pessimistic (worst case), expected (average), and optimistic times (best case). ANOVA test shows that physicians' adherence rates for the four CCRs differed significantly (p = 0.01). CCR adherence rate and resolution time were highly linearly correlated (R-square= 0.876 for the best case, R-square= 0.997 for the average case, and R-square= 0.670 for the worst case). This study suggested that future efforts in designing CCRs need to take resolution time into consideration during design, usability testing and implementation phases.