Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Clinical Decision Support: Current State and Future Directions

Research has shown that health care quality in the U.S. varies significantly and only half of adults receive evidence-based, recommended care. Individuals with multiple chronic conditions (42% of adults) and older adults are at particular risk for negative health outcomes. Current evidence shows that clinical decision support (CDS) systems improve adherence to evidence-based practices by analyzing patient data and making appropriate information available to the physician at the time they need it. CDS systems are usually electronic health record (EHR)-based, encompassing tools like alerts, clinical guidelines, patient reports and dashboards, diagnostic support, and workflow tools. These tools help reduce clinical errors and allow for customization to patient needs, improving quality of care and patient outcomes. The AHRQ Patient-Centered (PC) CDS Learning Network (PC CDS LN) defines PC CDS as: “CDS that supports individual patients and their approved care givers and/or care teams in health-related decisions and actions by leveraging information from PCOR findings and/or patient-specific information (e.g., patient-generated health data).” Through PC CDS, AHRQ seeks to accelerate the movement of patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) evidence into practice and to make CDS more shareable, standards-based, and publicly available. Traditionally, CDS initiatives have focused on provider-directed guidelines and increasing the shareability of CDS artifacts; however, PC CDS targets both patients (and/or caregivers) and providers. AHRQ’s effort to support PC CDS has included efforts such as the PC CDS LN, CDS Connect, and other related grants and contracts. In this project, AHRQ seeks to conduct a comprehensive evaluation to assess the impact of AHRQ’s PCOR CDS Initiative (the Initiative) on understanding of the current state of PC CDS and to identify gaps to guide AHRQ’s future research. This research has the following goal: To assess the accomplishments and opportunities for the Initiative as a whole, and each of its four individual components: the PC CDS Learning Network, CDS Connect, Quantifying Efficiencies, and the U18 CDS Resource Grants.

The latest form for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Clinical Decision Support: Current State and Future Directions expires 2023-11-30 and can be found here.

Attachment D: PC CDS Learning Network - Leader

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Health - Health Care Services

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