Health IT and clinical decision support systems: human factors and successful adoption.

Abstract

This special online issue of JAMIA focuses on Health IT (HIT) and Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS). It starts with a presentation from an FDA commissioned working group led by Bates et al ( see page e181 ) on a regulatory framework for HIT intended to be simple, effective, and non-duplicative. A significant open question is related to the tradeoff between costs and benefits in HIT and CDSS implementation. Slight et al ( see page e226 ) examine the costs associated with electronic health record (EHR) system implementation in the UK. Calculation of benefits is more difficult because of the variable adoption rates and the relatively small number of articles proving definitive benefits, not to count potential publication biases. Some authors also worried that clinician adoption of CDSS alerts and reminders might vary according to racial differences in the patient population. This variance could exacerbate disparities in health care, but Mishuris and Linder …