What is a common challenge associated with Clinical Decision Support (CDS)?

A common challenge associated with Clinical Decision Support (CDS) systems is alert fatigue. Alert fatigue occurs when healthcare providers become desensitized to frequent alerts or notifications generated by the CDS, which may lead to them ignoring or overriding important clinical recommendations. This desensitization can happen due to the sheer volume of alerts that a provider encounters daily, some of which may not be clinically relevant or necessary. As a result, when truly significant alerts arise, clinicians may overlook them, potentially impacting patient safety and the quality of care.

In contrast, immediate benefits are not always apparent; CDS systems often require an adjustment period for providers to fully integrate and utilize them effectively. Additionally, CDS systems can be quite complex and may require significant support and training to function correctly, contrary to the notion that minimal support is needed. Finally, while high interoperability among healthcare systems can enhance the efficacy of CDS tools, the reality is that many systems face challenges in achieving this, making it a less common challenge compared to alert fatigue.