This page will be based on an invited presentation, Clinical decision support and the quality-safety agenda, made by Professor John Fox at the ISQua conference in Dublin on 13 November 2009.

The case for supporting evidence-based decision-making at the point of care has become widely accepted over the last decade. Several recent systematic reviews in major medical journals clearly demonstrate the benefits, in many cases using very simple techniques. However, although the prize may be huge the pace of adoption remains slow. This talk will briefly review current evidence for the benefits of clinical decision support in improving the quality and safety of care, and some of the leading technical approaches will be illustrated. Possible strategies for improving the take-up of these promising technologies will be discussed.

“The application of what is known already will have a greater impact on health and disease than any single drug or technology likely to be introduced in the next decade”

Sir Muir Gray
Past Director of Clinical Knowledge, Process and Safety at NHS Connecting for Health.

• Decision support and process management systems have the ability to reduce errors and increase safety
• Every application is also a clinical intervention, comparable to a drug
• Applications and technologies should be assessed against evidence of efficacy
• Safety-critical applications should be accompanied by a safety case, prepared to accepted standards

Further details from the presentation will be published here later this week.