Lessons Learnt from Evaluation of Computer Interpretable Clinical Guidelines Tools and Methods: Literature Review

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Computer Science

Background:

• Representing clinical guidelines in computer-interpretable formats is crucial for healthcare.
• Numerous methods and tools exist, evaluated using diverse criteria.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically investigate and synthesize lessons learned from evaluation studies of clinical guideline representation tools.
• To identify common themes and areas for improvement in existing research.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a broad literature search combined with a purposeful snowball method.
• Reviewed and analyzed lessons learned from identified evaluation studies.
• Classified findings into 17 distinct themes.

Main Results:

• Lessons learned predominantly focus on tool functionalities, integration, sharing, and maintenance.
• Identified 17 themes reflecting common concerns and suggestions from evaluations.
• Highlighted areas that have received less research attention.

Conclusions:

• Synthesized knowledge from evaluation studies to inform the redesign of clinical guideline representation tools.
• Provided recommendations for future research, emphasizing under-addressed areas.
• Emphasized the value of analyzing past evaluations for advancing the field.