Data expertise helps researchers understand clinical tools usage
Clinical decision-support tools have the potential to help clinicians make evidence-based decisions, access relevant patient information and navigate complex care. However, making a tool available in an electronic health record (EHR) does not guarantee that clinicians will use it in routine practice.
Researchers have used data expertise to gain insight into the usage of clinical decision-support tools within electronic health records (EHRs). A study published in PLOS Digital Health examined the use of OneSheet, an EHR-based tool designed to support chronic pain management in primary care, across 145,511 patient encounters involving 69 primary care clinicians.
The research highlighted that clinicians accessed OneSheet during only 0.7% of the patient encounters, with usage more likely during encounters where chronic pain was directly addressed or when a patient was prescribed long-term opioid therapy. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding the clinical relevance of such tools and how they fit into existing workflows, as making these tools available within an EHR does not necessarily guarantee their routine use.
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