NR 503 Week 5 Clinical Decision Support Systems

This week we learned about the potential benefits and drawbacks to clinical decision support systems (CDSSs). Create a “Pros” versus “Cons” table with a column for “Pro” and a separate column for “Con”. Include at least 3 items for each column. Next to each item, provide a brief rationale as to why you included it on the respective list. Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) aid in screening patient data from various sources and then integrate that information into a single source. Benefit and drawbacks to Clinical Decision Support Systems Pros Cons Improved care. Doctors use CDSS to diagnose and improve patient care by eliminating unnecessary testing, improving patient safety, and avoiding costly complications. Alert fatigue for clinicians. The alerts triggered by a CDSS can overwhelm caretakers who also receive prompts from other technology systems. In practice, 49% to 96% of alerts are overridden, raising questions about the effectiveness of decision support (Ancker et al., 2017). Allows for faster decision-making. Increases the effectiveness of the decisions made due to its capacity to identify relevant data. The use of clinical decision support systems hence reduce the errors promoting patient safety and improving patient outcomes. Shift of responsibility - easy to blame computer. The danger can be that the doctor gets used to just filling boxes and not relying entirely on his/her knowledge when it comes to providing treatment to a patient who has multiple health conditions. It is best to be sure that the doctor is the one who decides on diagnosis and treatments. Has been seen to improve collaboration and communication within groups. Helps communicate with healthcare team immediately. Have the ability and tools to help physicians and nurses make better care decisions. For example, clinical decision support tools, like making medication recommendations based on diagnosis, and built-in clinical pathways, which help guide a hospital through May reduce skill in staff, because they become dependent on the computers. If misused, it can be detrimental to the patient's health. Also, the danger can be that the doctor gets used to just filling boxes and not relying entirely on his/her knowledge when it comes to providing treatment to a patient who has multiple health conditions. This study source was downloaded by from CourseH on :39:59 GMT -05:00 recommended procedures, and help ensure patients receive the best care. 2. The primary goal of a CDSS is to leverage data and the scientific evidence to help guide appropriate decision making. CDSSs directly assist the clinician in making decisions about specific patients. For this discussion thread post, you are to assume your future role as an APN and create a clinical patient and scenario to illustrate an exemplary depiction of how a CDSS might influence your decision. This post is an opportunity for you to be innovative, so have fun! A CDS (Clinical Decision Support) usually provides clinicians, patients, staff or other people with person-specific information, and knowledge in enhancing health care. The system encompasses various tools that help in decision making in the clinical workflow. Some of the tools are computerized alerts as well as reminders for patients and providers. Programs are being developed to help the clinician make his or her job easier and faster. There are benefits regarding the CDSS in the hospital setting. Some of the benefits include increased care quality, improved health results, and avoidance of errors as well as adverse events. More so, there is enhanced efficiency, cost-benefit, and patient and provider satisfaction. The CDSS helps in reducing the risks associated with medication errors especially to children and infants during emergency situations. The system can do complex calculations fast and efficiently with minimal mistakes. There is a reduction of misdiagnosis, and the CDSS drastically improves the margin existing in the diagnostic error. The CDSS provides the medical team with reliable, and consistent information. As an APN, I would use the CDSS on a patient with Obstructed Sleep Apnea (OSA), who is experiencing frequent episodes of partial or complete upper airway obstruction during sleep. These frequent obstructions result in recurrent oxygen desaturations, hypercarbia, sleep fragmentation, and increased fluctuations in intrathoracic pressure. Over time, these effects contribute to substantial morbidity and mortality (Williams, 2017, p. 42). As the APN inputs that the patient has a history of OSA, a BPA comes up on the screen to order the OSA order set. This includes having a Respiratory Therapist to come talk with the patient to determine if CPAP use is needed, if supplemental oxygen should be set up, or if a sleeping trial should be ordered after discharge. The BPA notifies the APN that the patient has OSA, and it is flagged for discussion during any sedating procedure. According to Mei-Chen et al (2015), when patients use their CPAP long-term, they have increases in sleep quality and reduced cardiovascular comorbidities with lower blood pres