Initial implementation and evaluation of a Hepatitis C treatment clinical decision support system (CDSS): a nurse practitioner-driven quality improvement initiative.

BACKGROUND: Clinician compliance with clinical guidelines in the treatment of patients with Hepatitis C (HCV) has been reported to be as low as 18.5%. Treatment is complex and patient compliance is often inconsistent thus, active clinician surveillance and support is essential to successful outcomes. A clinical decision support system (CDSS) embedded within an electronic health record can provide reminders, summarize key data, and facilitate coordination of care. To date, the literature is bereft of information describing the implementation and evaluation of a CDSS to support HCV treatment.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this case report is to describe the design, implementation, and initial evaluation of an HCV-specific CDSS while piloting data collection metrics and methods to be used in a larger study across multiple practices.
METHODS: The case report describes the design and implementation processes with preliminary reporting on impact of the CDSS on quality indicator completion by comparing the pre-CDSS group to the post-CDSS group.
RESULTS: The CDSS was successfully designed and implemented using an iterative, collaborative process. Pilot testing of the clinical outcomes of the CDSS revealed high rates of quality indicator completion in both the pre- and post-CDSS; although the post-CDSS group received a higher frequency of reminders (4.25 per patient) than the pre-CDSS group (.25 per patient).
CONCLUSIONS: This case report documents the processes used to successfully design and implement an HCV CDSS. While the small sample size precludes generalizability of findings, results did positively demonstrate the feasibility of comparing quality indicator completion rates pre-CDSS and post-CDSS. It is recommended that future studies include a larger sample size across multiple providers with expanded outcomes measures related to patient outcomes, staff satisfaction with the CDSS, and time studies to evaluate efficiency and cost effectiveness of the CDSS.