Development and implementation of a clinical decision support-based initiative to drive intravenous fluid prescribing

• Published in: International journal of medical informatics (Shannon, Ireland) Ireland), 2021-12, Vol.156, p.104619-104619, Article 104619
• Main Authors: Spiegel, Michelle C., Simpson, Annie N., Philip, Achsah, Bell, Carolyn M., Nadig, Nandita R., Ford, Dee W., Goodwin, Andrew J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Decision support systems, clinical; Implementation science; Medical informatics; Quality improvement
• ISSN: 1386-5056; 1872-8243
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2021.104619

•Clinical decision support systems can drive and standardize prescribing.•Clinical decision support systems change practice more effectively than education.•End-user involvement in clinical decision support design can facilitate adoption. Studies suggest superior outcomes with use of intravenous (IV) balanced fluids compared to normal saline (NS). However, significant fluid prescribing variability persists, highlighting the knowledge-to-practice gap. We sought to identify contributors to prescribing variation and utilize a clinical decision support system (CDSS) to increase institutional balanced fluid prescribing. This single-center informatics-enabled quality improvement initiative for patients hospitalized or treated in the emergency department included stepwise interventions of 1) identification of design factors within the computerized provider order entry (CPOE) of our electronic health record (EHR) that contribute to preferential NS ordering, 2) clinician education, 3) fluid stocking modifications, 4) re-design and implementation of a CDSS-integrated IV fluid ordering panel, and 5) comparison of fluid prescribing before and after the intervention. EHR-derived prescribing data was analyzed via single interrupted time series. Pre-intervention (3/2019–9/2019), balanced fluids comprised 33% of isotonic fluid orders, with gradual uptake (1.4%/month) of balanced fluid prescribing. Clinician education (10/2019–2/2020) yielded a modest (4.4%/month, 95% CI 1.6–7.2, p = 0.01) proportional increase in balanced fluid prescribing, while CPOE redesign (3/2020) yielded an immediate (20.7%, 95% CI 17.7–23.6, p