Search

Background: Coprescribing naloxone with opioid analgesics is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) best practice to mitigate the risk of fatal opioid overdose, yet coprescription by emergency medicine clinicians is rare, occurring less than 5% of the time it is indicated. Clinical decision support (CDS) has been associated with increased naloxone prescribing; however, key CDS design characteristics and pragmatic outcome measures necessary to understand replicability and effectiveness have not been reported., Objective: This study aimed to rigorously evaluate and quantify the impact of CDS designed to improve emergency department (ED) naloxone coprescribing. We hypothesized CDS would increase naloxone coprescribing and the number of naloxone prescriptions filled by patients discharged from EDs in a large health care system., Methods: Following user-centered design principles, we designed and implemented a fully automated, interruptive, electronic health record-based CDS to nudge clinicians to coprescribe naloxone with high-risk opioid prescriptions. "High-risk" opioid prescriptions were defined as any opioid analgesic prescription ≥90 total morphine milligram equivalents per day or for patients with a prior diagnosis of opioid use disorder or opioid overdose. The Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework was used to evaluate pragmatic CDS outcomes of reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance. Effectiveness was the primary outcome of interest and was assessed by (1) constructing a Bayesian structural time-series model of the number of ED visits with naloxone coprescriptions before and after CDS implementation and (2) calculating the percentage of naloxone prescriptions associated with CDS that were filled at an outpatient pharmacy. Mann-Kendall tests were used to evaluate longitudinal trends in CDS adoption. All outcomes were analyzed in R (version 4.2.2; R Core Team)., Unlabelled: Between November 2019 and July 2023, there were 1,994,994 ED visits. CDS reached clinicians in 0.83% (16,566/1,994,994) of all visits and 15.99% (16,566/103,606) of ED visits where an opioid was prescribed at discharge. Clinicians adopted CDS, coprescribing naloxone in 34.36% (6613/19,246) of alerts. CDS was effective, increasing naloxone coprescribing from baseline by 18.1 (95% CI 17.9-18.3) coprescriptions per week or 2,327% (95% CI 3390-3490). Patients filled 43.80% (1989/4541) of naloxone coprescriptions. The CDS was implemented simultaneously at every ED and no adaptations were made to CDS postimplementation. CDS was maintained beyond the study period and maintained its effect, with adoption increasing over time (τ=0.454; P<.001)., Conclusions: Our findings advance the evidence that electronic health record-based CDS increases the number of naloxone coprescriptions and improves the distribution of naloxone. Our time series analysis controls for secular trends and strongly suggests that minimally interruptive CDS significantly improves process outcomes., (© Stuart W Sommers, Heather J Tolle, Katy E Trinkley, Christine G Johnston, Caitlin L Dietsche, Stephanie V Eldred, Abraham T Wick, Jason A Hoppe. Originally published in JMIR Medical Informatics (https://medinform.jmir.org).)

Purpose: To describe our experiences implementing and iterating CYP2C19 genotype-guided clopidogrel pharmacogenetic clinical decision support (CDS) tools over time in the setting of a large health system-wide, preemptive pharmacogenomics program., Summary: Clopidogrel-treated patients who are genetically predicted cytochrome P450 isozyme 2C19 (CYP2C19) intermediate or poor metabolizers have an increased risk of atherothrombotic events, some of which can be life-threatening. The Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium provides guidance for the use of clopidogrel based on CYP2C19 genotype in patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Our multidisciplinary team implemented an automated, interruptive alert that fires when clopidogrel is ordered or refilled for biobank participants with structured CYP2C19 intermediate or poor metabolizer genomic indicators in the electronic health record. The implementation began with a narrow cardiovascular indication and setting and was then scaled in 4 primary dimensions: (1) clinical indication; (2) availability across health-system locations; (3) care venue (e.g., inpatient vs outpatient); and (4) provider groups (eg, cardiology and neurology). We iterated our approach over time based on evolving clinical evidence and proactive strategies to optimize CDS maintenance and sustainability. A key facilitator of expansion was socialization of the broader pharmacogenomics initiative among our academic medical center community, accompanied by clinician acceptance of pharmacogenetic alerts in practice., Conclusion: A multidisciplinary collaboration is recommended to facilitate the use of CYP2C19 genotype-guided antiplatelet therapy in patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Evolving clopidogrel pharmacogenetic evidence necessitates thoughtful iteration of implementation efforts and strategies to optimize long-term maintenance and sustainability., (© American Society of Health-System Pharmacists 2024. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objectives: In a randomized controlled trial, we found that applying implementation science (IS) methods and best practices in clinical decision support (CDS) design to create a locally customized, "enhanced" CDS significantly improved evidence-based prescribing of β blockers (BB) for heart failure compared with an unmodified commercially available CDS. At trial conclusion, the enhanced CDS was expanded to all sites. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the real-world sustained effect of the enhanced CDS compared with the commercial CDS., Methods: In this natural experiment of 28 primary care clinics, we compared clinics exposed to the commercial CDS (preperiod) to clinics exposed to the enhanced CDS (both periods). The primary effectiveness outcome was the proportion of alerts resulting in a BB prescription. Secondary outcomes included patient reach and clinician adoption (dismissals)., Results: There were 367 alerts for 183 unique patients and 171 unique clinicians (pre: March 2019-August 2019; post: October 2019-March 2020). The enhanced CDS increased prescribing by 26.1% compared with the commercial (95% confidence interval [CI]: 17.0-35.1%), which is consistent with the 24% increase in the previous study. The odds of adopting the enhanced CDS was 81% compared with 29% with the commercial (odds ratio: 4.17, 95% CI: 1.96-8.85). The enhanced CDS adoption and effectiveness rates were 62 and 14% in the preperiod and 92 and 10% in the postperiod., Conclusion: Applying IS methods with CDS best practices was associated with improved and sustained clinician adoption and effectiveness compared with a commercially available CDS tool., Competing Interests: None declared., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of 2 clinical decision support (CDS) tools to avoid prescription of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in patients with heart failure (HF): a "commercial" and a locally "customized" alert., Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 2 CDS tools implemented within a large integrated health system. The commercial CDS tool was designed according to third-party drug content and EHR vendor specifications. The customized CDS tool underwent a user-centered design process informed by implementation science principles, with input from a cross disciplinary team. The customized CDS tool replaced the commercial CDS tool. Data were collected from the electronic health record via analytic reports and manual chart review. The primary outcome was effectiveness, defined as whether the clinician changed their behavior and did not prescribe an NSAID., Results: A random sample of 366 alerts (183 per CDS tool) was evaluated that represented 355 unique patients. The commercial CDS tool was effective for 7 of 172 (4%) patients, while the customized CDS tool was effective for 81 of 183 (44%) patients. After adjusting for age, chronic kidney disease, ejection fraction, NYHA class, concurrent prescription of an opioid or acetaminophen, visit type (inpatient or outpatient), and clinician specialty, the customized alerts were at 24.3 times greater odds of effectiveness compared to the commercial alerts (OR: 24.3 CI: 10.20-58.06)., Conclusion: Investing additional resources to customize a CDS tool resulted in a CDS tool that was more effective at reducing the total number of NSAID orders placed for patients with HF compared to a commercially available CDS tool., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objective: Clinical decision support (CDS) alerts built into the electronic health record (EHR) have the potential to reduce the risk of drug-induced long QT syndrome (diLQTS) in susceptible patients. However, the degree to which providers incorporate this information into prescription behavior and the impact on patient outcomes is often unknown., Methods: We examined provider response data over a period from October 8, 2016 until November 8, 2018 for a CDS alert deployed within the EHR from a 13-hospital integrated health care system that fires when a patient with a QTc ≥ 500 ms within the past 14 days is prescribed a known QT-prolonging medication. We used multivariate generalized estimating equations to analyze the impact of therapeutic alternatives, relative risk of diLQTS for specific medications, and patient characteristics on provider response to the CDS and overall patient mortality., Results: The CDS alert fired 15,002 times for 7,510 patients for which the most common response (51.0%) was to override the alert and order the culprit medication. In multivariate models, we found that patient age, relative risk of diLQTS, and presence of alternative agents were significant predictors of adherence to the CDS alerts and that nonadherence itself was a predictor of mortality. Risk of diLQTS and presence of an alternative agent are major factors in provider adherence to a CDS to prevent diLQTS; however, provider nonadherence was associated with a decreased risk of mortality., Conclusion: Surrogate endpoints, such as provider adherence, can be useful measures of CDS value but attention to hard outcomes, such as mortality, is likely needed., Competing Interests: None declared., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Background: Clinical decision support (CDS) design best practices are intended to provide a narrative representation of factors that influence the success of CDS tools. However, they provide incomplete direction on evidence-based implementation principles., Objective: This study aims to describe an integrated approach toward applying an existing implementation science (IS) framework with CDS design best practices to improve the effectiveness, sustainability, and reproducibility of CDS implementations., Methods: We selected the Practical Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model (PRISM) IS framework. We identified areas where PRISM and CDS design best practices complemented each other and defined methods to address each. Lessons learned from applying these methods were then used to further refine the integrated approach., Results: Our integrated approach to applying PRISM with CDS design best practices consists of 5 key phases that iteratively interact and inform each other: multilevel stakeholder engagement, designing the CDS, design and usability testing, thoughtful deployment, and performance evaluation and maintenance. The approach is led by a dedicated implementation team that includes clinical informatics and analyst builder expertise., Conclusions: Integrating PRISM with CDS design best practices extends user-centered design and accounts for the multilevel, interacting, and dynamic factors that influence CDS implementation in health care. Integrating PRISM with CDS design best practices synthesizes the many known contextual factors that can influence the success of CDS tools, thereby enhancing the reproducibility and sustainability of CDS implementations. Others can adapt this approach to their situation to maximize and sustain CDS implementation success., (©Katy E Trinkley, Michael G Kahn, Tellen D Bennett, Russell E Glasgow, Heather Haugen, David P Kao, Miranda E Kroehl, Chen-Tan Lin, Daniel C Malone, Daniel D Matlock. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 29.10.2020.)

Background: Medication nonadherence and unaffordability are prevalent, burdensome issues in primary care. In response, technology companies are capitalizing on clinical decision support (CDS) to deliver patient-specific information regarding medication adherence and costs to clinicians using electronic health records (EHRs). To maximize adoption and usability, these CDS tools should be designed with consideration of end users' values and preferences., Objective: This article evaluates primary care clinicians' values and preferences for a medication adherence and cost CDS., Methods: We conducted semistructured interviews with primary care clinicians with prescribing privileges and EHR access to identify clinicians' perceptions of and approaches to assessing medication adherence and costs, and to determine perceived values and preferences for medication adherence and cost CDS. Interviews were conducted until saturation of responses was reached. ATLAS.ti was used for thematic analysis., Results: Among 26 clinicians interviewed, themes identified included a high value, but moderate need for a medication adherence CDS and high value and need for cost CDS. Clinicians expressed the cost CDS would provide actionable solutions and greatly impact patient care. Another theme identified was a desire for medication adherence and cost CDS to be separate tools yet integrated into workflow. The majority of clinicians preferred a medication adherence CDS that integrated claims data and actively displayed data using color-coded adherence categories within patients' medication lists in the EHR. For the cost CDS, clinicians preferred medication out-of-pocket costs and a list of cheaper or payor-preferred alternatives to display within the order queue of the EHR., Conclusion: We identified valuable insights regarding clinician values and preferences for medication adherence and cost CDS. Overall, primary care clinicians feel CDS for medication adherence and cost are valuable and prefer them to be separate. These insights should be used to inform the design, implementation, and EHR integration of future medication and cost CDS tools., Competing Interests: C.G.D. reports other from Amgen Inc, other from Amarin Corporation, outside the submitted work., (Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Background: To improve user-centred design efforts and efficiency; there is a need to disseminate information on modern day clinician preferences for technologies such as computerised clinical decision support (CDS)., Objective: To describe clinician perceptions regarding beneficial features of CDS for chronic medications in primary care., Methods: This study included focus groups and clinicians individually describing their ideal CDS. Three focus groups were conducted including prescribing clinicians from a variety of disciplines. Outcome measures included identification of favourable features and unintended consequences of CDS for chronic medication management in primary care. We transcribed recordings, performed thematic qualitative analysis and generated counts when possible., Results: There were 21 participants who identified four categories of beneficial CDS features during the group discussion: non-interruptive alerts, clinically relevant and customisable support, presentation of pertinent clinical information and optimises workflow. Non-interruptive alerts were broadly defined as passive alerts that a user chooses to review, whereas interruptive were active or disruptive alerts that interrupted workflow and one is forced to review before completing a task. The CDS features identified in the individual descriptions were consistent with the focus group discussion, with the exception of non-interruptive alerts. In the individual descriptions, 12 clinicians preferred interruptive CDS compared with seven clinicians describing non-interruptive CDS., Conclusion: Clinicians identified CDS for chronic medications beneficial when they are clinically relevant and customisable, present pertinent clinical information (eg, labs, vitals) and improve their workflow. Although clinicians preferred passive, non-interruptive alerts, most acknowledged that these may not be widely seen and may be less effective. These features align with literature describing best practices in CDS design and emphasise those features clinicians prioritise, which should be considered when designing CDS for medication management in primary care. These findings highlight the disparity between the current state of CDS design and clinician-stated design features associated with beneficial CDS., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)