Physician compliance with practice guidelines.
BACKGROUND
Physician adherence to established practice standards has become an important national issue. Despite the proliferation of formal standards of practice, there is little evidence that the mere availability of guidelines results in changes in physician practices. This paper presents the results of a study of the effectiveness of a computerized monitoring and notification system in increasing physician compliance with treatment guidelines.


METHODS
This study prospectively compared medical staff practices in two one-year periods utilizing a computer system which tabulated noncompliance and provided reminders.


RESULTS
Overall, there was a statistically-significant decrease in the number of alerts issued in year two compared to year one; alerts were issued on 15% vs 29% of all patients (P < .001). The average number of alerts per patient decreased to .20 from .41.


CONCLUSIONS
The study results indicate that a clinical decision support system such as that described can improve adherence to treatment guidelines.
Goethe
J W
JW
Burlingame Center for Psychiatric Research and Education, Institute of Living, Hartford, USA.
Schwartz
H I
HI
Szarek
B L
BL
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014481:United States
D011619:Psychotropic Drugs