Human Factors Considerations in Transitions in Care Clinical Decision Support System Implementation Studies

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Clinical Decision Support
• Implementation Science

Background:

• Transitions in care are critical periods for patient safety.
• Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) are increasingly used to aid these transitions.
• However, understanding their implementation and impact remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review studies on CDSS implementation for care transitions.
• To describe human factors, design, and outcomes of these systems.
• To identify gaps in current research and suggest future directions.

Main Methods:

• A literature review was conducted in PubMed.
• Subject matter experts guided the search strategy.
• Twelve relevant articles were included in the analysis.

Main Results:

• Studies targeted physicians, nurses, pharmacists, or teams.
• CDSS were deployed via EHR, email, or cloud software.
• Outcomes were mixed, with frequent alert fatigue and few statistically significant improvements.

Conclusions:

• Evidence for CDSS improving clinical practice during care transitions is mixed.
• Few studies detail implementation processes or outcomes.
• Future research should adopt implementation science frameworks and include diverse outcomes.