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Usability and Clinical Decision Support

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Clinical Decision Support Systems

Part of the book series: Health Informatics ((HI))

Abstract

Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) link clinical observations with health knowledge to assist clinical decisions. The systems influence clinicians’ decisions and consequently enhance healthcare quality. Unfortunately, widespread adoption and user acceptance have not been achieved in most clinical settings since CDSS are not immune to common usability problems of health information technology. This chapter describes clinical and technical issues related to the usability of CDSS.

The clinical issues that affect usability are mainly associated with workflow integration and the growing body of knowledge that needs to be incorporated in clinical decision making. Technical issues include those related to knowledge representation, knowledge base construction and maintenance, and system implementation. The chapter also includes discussions on reducing alert fatigue and improving human-computer interaction in CDSS. It is expected that integrating CDSS with electronic health records will improve healthcare quality and patient safety and improve the timeliness of the adoption of research into practice.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biomedical Informatics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin St., Suite 165, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Yang Gong M.D., Ph.D.

  2. Postdoctoral Fellow of UTHealth Innovation in Cancer Prevention Research Training Program, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin St., Suite 165, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Hong Kang Ph.D.

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  1. Yang Gong M.D., Ph.D.
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  2. Hong Kang Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Yang Gong M.D., Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health Professions, Department of Health Services Administration and Department of Medical Education, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham , Birmingham, Alabama, USA

    Eta S. Berner

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Gong, Y., Kang, H. (2016). Usability and Clinical Decision Support. In: Berner, E. (eds) Clinical Decision Support Systems. Health Informatics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31913-1_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31913-1_4

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