Effect of computerised, knowledge-based, clinical decision support systems on patient-reported and clinical outcomes of patients with chronic disease managed in primary care settings: a systematic review

Objectives Chronic diseases are the leading cause of disability globally. Most chronic disease management occurs in primary care with outcomes varying across primary care providers. Computerised clinical decision support systems (CDSS) have been shown to positively affect clinician behaviour by impr...

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Main Authors: Nikolaos Mastellos, Marie line El Asmar, Kanika I Dharmayat, Antonio J Vallejo-Vaz, Ryan Irwin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2021-12-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/12/e054659.full
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author Nikolaos Mastellos
Marie line El Asmar
Kanika I Dharmayat
Antonio J Vallejo-Vaz
Ryan Irwin
author_facet Nikolaos Mastellos
Marie line El Asmar
Kanika I Dharmayat
Antonio J Vallejo-Vaz
Ryan Irwin
author_sort Nikolaos Mastellos
collection DOAJ
description Objectives Chronic diseases are the leading cause of disability globally. Most chronic disease management occurs in primary care with outcomes varying across primary care providers. Computerised clinical decision support systems (CDSS) have been shown to positively affect clinician behaviour by improving adherence to clinical guidelines. This study provides a summary of the available evidence on the effect of CDSS embedded in electronic health records on patient-reported and clinical outcomes of adult patients with chronic disease managed in primary care.Design and eligibility criteria Systematic review, including randomised controlled trials (RCTs), cluster RCTs, quasi-RCTs, interrupted time series and controlled before-and-after studies, assessing the effect of CDSS (vs usual care) on patient-reported or clinical outcomes of adult patients with selected common chronic diseases (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, myocardial ischaemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidaemia, arthritis and osteoporosis) managed in primary care.Data sources Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, Scopus, Health Management Information Consortium and trial register clinicaltrials.gov were searched from inception to 24 June 2020.Data extraction and synthesis Screening, data extraction and quality assessment were performed by two reviewers independently. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used for quality appraisal.Results From 5430 articles, 8 studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies were heterogeneous in population characteristics, intervention components and outcome measurements and focused on diabetes, asthma, hyperlipidaemia and hypertension. Most outcomes were clinical with one study reporting on patient-reported outcomes. Quality of the evidence was impacted by methodological biases of studies.Conclusions There is inconclusive evidence in support of CDSS. A firm inference on the intervention effect was not possible due to methodological biases and study heterogeneity. Further research is needed to provide evidence on the intervention effect and the interplay between healthcare setting features, CDSS characteristics and implementation processes.PROSPERO registration number CRD42020218184.
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spelling doaj-art-5e90fff2660544b4bb21fb190ed5ce8e2025-08-20T01:59:14ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552021-12-01111210.1136/bmjopen-2021-054659Effect of computerised, knowledge-based, clinical decision support systems on patient-reported and clinical outcomes of patients with chronic disease managed in primary care settings: a systematic reviewNikolaos Mastellos0Marie line El Asmar1Kanika I Dharmayat2Antonio J Vallejo-Vaz3Ryan Irwin47 Department of Primary Care and Public Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UKImperial College London, London, UKImperial Centre for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention (ICCP), Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UKDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicina, University of Seville, Sevilla, SpainInstitute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UKObjectives Chronic diseases are the leading cause of disability globally. Most chronic disease management occurs in primary care with outcomes varying across primary care providers. Computerised clinical decision support systems (CDSS) have been shown to positively affect clinician behaviour by improving adherence to clinical guidelines. This study provides a summary of the available evidence on the effect of CDSS embedded in electronic health records on patient-reported and clinical outcomes of adult patients with chronic disease managed in primary care.Design and eligibility criteria Systematic review, including randomised controlled trials (RCTs), cluster RCTs, quasi-RCTs, interrupted time series and controlled before-and-after studies, assessing the effect of CDSS (vs usual care) on patient-reported or clinical outcomes of adult patients with selected common chronic diseases (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, myocardial ischaemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidaemia, arthritis and osteoporosis) managed in primary care.Data sources Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, Scopus, Health Management Information Consortium and trial register clinicaltrials.gov were searched from inception to 24 June 2020.Data extraction and synthesis Screening, data extraction and quality assessment were performed by two reviewers independently. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used for quality appraisal.Results From 5430 articles, 8 studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies were heterogeneous in population characteristics, intervention components and outcome measurements and focused on diabetes, asthma, hyperlipidaemia and hypertension. Most outcomes were clinical with one study reporting on patient-reported outcomes. Quality of the evidence was impacted by methodological biases of studies.Conclusions There is inconclusive evidence in support of CDSS. A firm inference on the intervention effect was not possible due to methodological biases and study heterogeneity. Further research is needed to provide evidence on the intervention effect and the interplay between healthcare setting features, CDSS characteristics and implementation processes.PROSPERO registration number CRD42020218184.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/12/e054659.full
spellingShingle Nikolaos Mastellos
Marie line El Asmar
Kanika I Dharmayat
Antonio J Vallejo-Vaz
Ryan Irwin
Effect of computerised, knowledge-based, clinical decision support systems on patient-reported and clinical outcomes of patients with chronic disease managed in primary care settings: a systematic review
BMJ Open
title Effect of computerised, knowledge-based, clinical decision support systems on patient-reported and clinical outcomes of patients with chronic disease managed in primary care settings: a systematic review
title_full Effect of computerised, knowledge-based, clinical decision support systems on patient-reported and clinical outcomes of patients with chronic disease managed in primary care settings: a systematic review
title_fullStr Effect of computerised, knowledge-based, clinical decision support systems on patient-reported and clinical outcomes of patients with chronic disease managed in primary care settings: a systematic review
title_full_unstemmed Effect of computerised, knowledge-based, clinical decision support systems on patient-reported and clinical outcomes of patients with chronic disease managed in primary care settings: a systematic review
title_short Effect of computerised, knowledge-based, clinical decision support systems on patient-reported and clinical outcomes of patients with chronic disease managed in primary care settings: a systematic review
title_sort effect of computerised knowledge based clinical decision support systems on patient reported and clinical outcomes of patients with chronic disease managed in primary care settings a systematic review
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/12/e054659.full
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