The cost of patient safety: 3 considerations for hospital leadership on clinical decision support investments
Introduction
Access to the right information at the right time is crucial to safe and effective patient care, and hospitals are complex systems with different healthcare professionals requiring specific clinical evidence to support patient-specific decisions.
Electronic clinical decision support systems (CDSS) are used by many hospitals worldwide to support high quality care, often through a paid subscription model. With hospital resources stretched, leadership teams have tough decisions to make when it comes to selecting CDSS tools.
We look at 3 considerations for hospital leadership when investing in CDSS solutions to support effective care, patient safety and system efficiency.
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- Evidence-based interventions help prevent medication errors
With evidence-based clinical decision support tools, especially when integrated directly within the workflow in the EHR, clinicians have real-time access to the latest information when prescribing, dispensing, and administering medications
2. Medication validation at scale can prevent wastage and reduce cost
With more efficient medication validation activities driven by CDSS tools, including helping to support medication reviews particularly in cases of polypharmacy, hospitals can prevent the wastage of valuable medication resources — reducing costs and helping to build an even more sustainable medication cycle.
3. Streamlined access to information supports efficiency gains
CDSS can support digital technology such as automated alerts, which can help reduce human error whilst at the same time introducing efficiencies that free up time for quality care to be enhanced.
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