Background: For some people, medication is already a daily routine. The development of this field has gone so far that the average life expectancy is rising. However, developments have led to more and more new medicines and with them more prescribing errors. To avoid errors and to make the work process easier, various computerized systems have been developed to help in this process. One of them is clinical decision support systems (CDSS).
Purpose: To identify the effectiveness and options for further research and development of clinical decision support systems by producing an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of research on systems used in clinical decision making to pharmacotherapy.
Methods: We searched the MEDLINE database (PubMed) with a defined search profile for all systematic reviews published up to May 2022. We performed a literature search and evaluated the selected systematic reviews and meta-analyses according to the guidelines of the PRISMA checklist. We prepared a content summary and interpretation of all included systematic reviews.
Results: 31 systematic reviews and meta-analyses were included in the umbrella review. The average score in the PRISMA studies was 77 %. Although the articles varied in quality, the effective interventions were consistent between higher- and lower-quality studies. When examining the impact of CDSSs, we found that the systems work well to assist healthcare staff in the patient care process. The results in the group describing CDSSs on patient outcomes were slightly worse. We also found that CDSSs specialized in a particular disease state showed positive results in both groups.
Conclusion: The effectiveness of CDSSs varies from one group to another, but it can be said that CDSSs have a positive impact on healthcare staff and patients, especially if they are focused on a specific disease state. Further research on the impact of CDSS on patient outcomes and the development of more modern, staff-friendly, and detailed CDSSs are needed in the future.
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