HIMSS Preview: CDSFortifying decision-making

Clinical decision support has reached a critical juncture. Technology improvements enable CDS systems to gather a wider variety of patient data to provide more useful advice that assists clinicians’ decision making. Converging standards and integration initiatives enable more stand-alone CDS tools to work together in actual systems.

In December, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its proposed regulations for meaningful use to require hospitals and physician practices to implement CDS for a minimum of five high-priority conditions in order to qualify for federal subsidies in 2011, during the first year of the EHR incentive program. An earlier draft had called for just one CDS rule during the first year.

That federal spotlight on CDS is likely one reason that a majority of respondents in our CMIO Compensation Survey 2010 – 55 percent – called CDS a very important technology for their facilities this year. It’s also fueled several of the CDS sessions at HIMSS. There’s certainly plenty to discuss: CDS technologies vary, from analytics modules in electronic medical records (EMRs) to computerized physician order entry (CPOE) software to personal health records (PHRs). Implementation varies widely as well, making the CMS requirements that much tougher for many facilities.

CDS systems bring together a range of information that can personalize patient care, but very often implementers must overcome high costs, integration issues, workflow complexity and liability issues to get the most decision support. Speakers at these sessions will offer a variety of ways to get CDS up, running and meaningful, and you’ll hear advice from small practices to large healthcare systems to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

For session locations and other details, consult the session program onsite or visit HIMSSconference.org. Note that some of these sessions are part of preconference symposium that require an additional registration fee of $275. And to get our daily news updates of education sessions from HIMSS delivered to your inbox or mobile device, be sure you’re signed up for CMIO News at CMIO.net.

HIMSS Educational Session Preview: CDS

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