Integration of Clinical Decision Support and Electronic Clinical Quality Measurement: Domain Expert Insights and...

The integration of clinical decision support (CDS) and electronic clinical quality measurement (eCQM) could help improve consistency, reduce redundancy, and ultimately help improve value. To guide efforts in this area, 15 leading experts in CDS and eCQM were interviewed to obtain insights on how CDS and eCQM could be better integrated. Four main themes emerged: cultural and business considerations for CDS, eCQM, and their integration trump the technical considerations; the purpose and goals of CDS and eCQM differ, and these differences must be accounted for; there is an oftentimes invisible overlap between CDS and eCQM, and with the larger domain of quality improvement; and despite the differences, synergies between CDS and eCQM should be pursued to amplify the effectiveness of each approach. A key implication of these findings is the need to bridge cultural and business differences between CDS and eCQM, with informaticists potentially playing a critical role.