How Should Clinicians’ Performance Be Assessed When Health Care Organizations Implement Behavioral Architecture That Generates Negative Consequences?

Behavioral interventions have been shown to have powerful effects on human behavior both outside of and within the context of health care. As organizations increasingly adopt behavioral architecture, care must be taken to consider its potential negative consequences. An evidenced-based approach is best, whereby interventions that might have a significant deleterious effect on patients' health outcomes are first tested and rigorously evaluated before being systematically rolled out. In the case of clinical decision support, brief and thorough instructions should be provided for use. Physician performance when using these systems is best measured relatively, in the context of peers with similar training. Responsibility for errors must be shared with clinical team members and system designers.