Decision Support Is in Its Infancy: Some Obstacles Remain to Wider Adoption of This Technology in Behavioral Healthcare

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The core function of electronic health records (EHRs) is to preserve data about patients and their care. To complement EHRs and maximize use of those data, healthcare organizations of all kinds are moving forward in the crucial area of developing and using clinical decision support (CDS) tools.

CDS is a loose term and covers a lot of ground. For behavioral healthcare professionals, the main areas of interest are CDS software programs that can help clinicians perform patient assessments and create treatment plans (thereby automating some functions); look up clinical information; prompt clinicians with alerts, warnings, and advice; document care; and manage medications. Thus, CDS tools have the potential to help busy clinicians improve the quality--and safety--of care.

Candace Cohen, MD, a psychiatrist at the Mendota Mental Health Institute, a state of Wisconsin facility in Madison, was involved in planning a clinical information system for …