Role of Clinical Decision Supporting Systems in Prevention of Medical Errors from the Perspective of Health Care Staff in University Hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran*

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Manijeh Ariaei 1
Afshin Sarafi Nejad 2
Jamileh Kouti 3
Zahra Mehdipour 4
Kambiz Bahaadinbeigy 5
1 Lecturer, Health Information Technology and Medical Records, School of Management and Information Sciences, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
2 PhD Candidate, Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
3 Medical Records, School of Paramedics, Ahwaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahwaz, Iran
4 Medical Records, Shiraz Ghadir Mother and Child Sub-Specialized Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
5 Assistant Professor, Medical Informatics, Institute of Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
Abstract
Introduction: Computerized clinical decision support systems (CDSS) can be effective in
reducing certain types of medical errors. This study aimed to assess the viewpoints of physicians
and nurses about practical use of these systems to prevent or decrease the incidence of errors.
Methods: In a two-month cross-sectional study using two valid and consistent researcher-made
questionnaires, the viewpoints of one hundred physicians and nurses from university hospitals of
Kerman University of Medical Sciences were collected concerning some of the important errors
in treatment process and nursing care that are preventable by alert or reminder systems.
Results: All of the study subjects i.e. 65 females and 35 males from physicians and nurses filled
out the questionnaires. Among them, 86% of the physicians and 90% of the nurses believed in the
possibility of medical errors and 88% of the participants agreed that using efficient computerized
systems reduces medical errors. According to most of the responses, computer systems have
positive effects on reducing bed sore and emboli occurrences, eliminating physicians’ illegible
hand-writing and improvement of quality health care services due to accessing to the up-to-date
information. Moreover, nearly all the participants believed that computer systems have positive
effects on reducing drug allergies and interactions as well as improvement of prescription quality
through availability of patient’s medical history. The top priorities for physicians were access to
up-to-date information and alert about severe drug allergies and interactions, respectively; while
for nurses, the top priorities were preventing bed sore and emboli and important issues in hightraffic
wards.
Conclusion: Staff of hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences believed that
computerized CDSS, either through reminders or alert systems, are effective to reduce errors in
patient care. These findings might be influencing for development and use of these systems

Keywords

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Health Information Management
Volume 9, Issue 5
November and December 2012
Pages 711-723