The evaluation of clinical decision support systems: what is necessary versus what is interesting.

The evaluation of clinical decision support systems has long been recognized as an important part of the overall field of medical computing, as well as a complex and varied field in its own right. There are a number of purposes for which such an evaluation might be performed. This paper focuses on one of those purposes, the assurance of safety when preparing to release the system for general use. The assurance of safety involves two major stages: (1) a comprehensive validation of the system's knowledge and advice, and (2) a period of use which exposes the system's advice and interface to the clinical environment.