Clinical Decision Support Systems: Theory and Practice (Health Informatics)

This is a resource book on clinical decision support systems for informatics specialists, a textbook for teachers or students in health informatics and a comprehensive introduction for clinicians. It has become obvious that, in addition to physicians, other health professionals have need of decision support. Therefore, the issues raised in this book apply to a broad range of clinicians. The book includes chapters written by internationally recognized experts on the design, evaluation and application of these systems, who examine the impact of computer-based diagnostic tools both from the practitioner’s perspective and that of the patient.

Building on the success of the 1998 edition, Clinical Decision Support Systems: Theory and Practice, Second Edition, once again brings together worldwide experts to illustrate the underlying science and day-to-day use of decision support systmes in clinical and educational settings.

 Writes the editor, "If used properly, CDSS have the potential to change the way medicine has been taught and practiced."  As clinical decision support systems (CDSS) gain an increasingly central role in the delivery of high quality health care, it becomes more important for the health care community to understand their use.  This text is designed as a resource for practicing clinicians, informaticians, teachers and students alike, and provides the most current, comprehensive look a the development and evaluation of clinical decision support systems.

 Topics discussed include:

-Mathematical Foundations of Decision Support Systems

-Design and Implementation Issues

-Ethical and Legal Issues in Decision Support

-Clinical Trials of Information Interventians

-Hospital-Based Decision Support

-Real World Case Studies 

Eta S. Berner, EdD, is a Professor of Health Informatics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.