Pragmatic Considerations on Clinical Decision Support from the 2019 Literature

Area of Science:

• Informatics
• Medical Informatics
• Clinical Decision Support

Background:

• Computerized clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) and computerized provider order entry (CPOE) are crucial in modern healthcare.
• Evaluating significant research contributions is essential for advancing the field.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and summarize key research from 2019 in computerized clinical decision support.
• To select the best papers for the Decision Support section of the IMIA Yearbook.

Main Methods:

• Bibliographic databases were searched for CDSS and CPOE related papers.
• Candidate papers were identified by section editors and peer-reviewed by external reviewers.
• The IMIA Yearbook editorial committee made the final selection based on reviews.

Main Results:

• 1,378 articles were retrieved, leading to 15 best paper candidates.
• Three best papers were selected, covering guideline modeling with decision trees, formalizing chronic disease processes with Timed Transition Diagrams, and a framework for assessing predictive tool performance.
• Selected papers emphasize clinical interpretability, formalization of recurrent medical processes, and critical appraisal of evidence.

Conclusions:

• Research in clinical decision support is highly active, as evidenced by the volume and diversity of publications.
• The 2019 selection emphasized practical research promoting transparency and trust in decision support tools.