The authors of a controversial clinical decision-support (CDS) analysis published in December 2014 have also now shared their findings in a research letter published in the June 2 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The study, which provided an analysis of the large Medicare Imaging Demonstration (MID) project performed between October 2011 and October 2013, found that the use of decision-support software did not significantly improve the appropriateness of image ordering and also frustrated physicians.
"Implementing CDS systems in real-world settings has many challenges that must be addressed to meaningfully affect patient care," the authors wrote in JAMA.
Upon release of the research last year, advocates of clinical decision support criticized the study for factors such as its design and sample size. For example, only 12 common imaging exams were included in the project, and only 35% of the advanced imaging studies ordered during the study period could be rated by the CDS system.
