Golden opportunities for clinical decision support in an era of team-based healthcare

Abstract

Computerized clinical decision support (CDS) will be essential to ensuring the safety and efficiency of new care delivery models, such as the patient-centered medical home. CDS will help empower non-physician team members, coordinate overall team efforts, and facilitate physician oversight. In this article, we discuss common clinical scenarios that could benefit from CDS optimized for team-based healthcare, including (1) low-acuity episodic illness, (2) diagnostic workup of new onset symptoms, (3) chronic care, (4) preventive care, and (5) care coordination. CDS that maximally supports teams may be one of biomedical informatics' best opportunities to decrease health care costs, improve quality, and increase clinical capacity.