Advances in Clinical Decision Support Systems: Contributions from the 2024 Literature

OBJECTIVE: : To summarize significant research contributions published in 2024 in the field of clinical decision support (CDS) systems and select the best papers for the Decision Support section of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) Yearbook 2025.

METHODS: : A renewed search query for identifying CDS scholarship was developed using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms and related keywords. The query was executed in PubMed in January 2025. The search results were reviewed in three stages by two reviewers: title-based triaging, followed by abstract screening, and then full text review. The resulting articles were sent for external review to identity best paper candidates.

RESULTS: : A total of 3,092 articles related to CDS were retrieved. Of these, eight articles were selected as candidates for best papers. The general themes of the final three best papers are i) integrating pharmacogenetic data in commercial electronic health record, ii) reducing anesthetic fresh gas flow to improve environmental sustainability, and iii) decreasing activities and interventions overnight in hospitalized patients.

CONCLUSION: : Contributions to the field of decision support continued to grow in 2024, therefore making the selection process for the best candidate papers more labor-intensive.