From Clinical Decision Support to Equity-Aware Decision Support: A Conceptual Architecture for Digital Health Systems

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Informatics
• Health Systems Research

Background:

• Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSSs) are vital for evidence-based care but often overlook health equity and economic factors.
• Growing pressures on health systems necessitate decision-support tools that address equitable access and resource efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a conceptual framework for Equity-Aware Decision Support (EADS) in digital health.
• To extend traditional CDSS by integrating clinical, equity, and economic intelligence.
• To enhance system-level decision-making for equitable care and efficient resource allocation.

Main Methods:

• Development of a conceptual framework integrating three intelligence layers: clinical, equity, and economic.
• Proposing a unified digital health architecture to incorporate these intelligence dimensions.
• Focus on identifying access inequalities and improving resource utilization.

Main Results:

• The EADS framework offers a novel approach to decision support in digital health.
• Integration of equity and economic intelligence alongside clinical data is proposed.
• The framework aims to support clinicians, managers, and policymakers in addressing disparities.

Conclusions:

• Equity-Aware Decision Support is crucial for modern digital health systems facing complex challenges.
• The proposed framework provides a pathway to more equitable and efficient healthcare delivery.
• EADS can help identify and mitigate health access inequalities through integrated data intelligence.