title: Decision support at the crossroads.
abstract: Quality, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder--patients, physicians and payors all have their own perspective, If everyone is pleased with the outcome--the patient is cured, the physician managed the condition before it worsened and the payor saved money because the patient didn't need surgery--then isn't that quality care? Clinical decision support systems can help improve the quality of care by providing relevant information right at the time it's needed most--at the clinician's fingertips. Armed with the right information, physicians can diagnose more effectively and make better decisions about care and treatment, say some industry experts. But, caution others, clinical decision support systems are not intended to take the place of a physician's good judgement.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sempeles
mesh_terms: D003660:Decision Support Systems, Management; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards; D014481:United States