Clinical Decision Support Systems and Clinical Outcome in Primary Health Care

A Systematic Review

Abstract

This systematic review addresses the use of Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) in the Primary Health Care (PHC), identifying relationships between the use of the Systems and clinical outcomes. The research employed selected studies in Portuguese and English, with no restriction to the Brazilian scenario, found in different databases. Results demonstrate that CDSS are still in the development and refinement stage, their application is still incipient for the most diverse pathologies and clinical conditions. Clinical trials that trace the primary clinical outcomes are rare, leading to the accumulation of data only on secondary or compound outcomes, making it difficult to evaluate the systems. There are indications of relative efficiency in the use of CDSS for diagnosis and prevention situations, with limited efficiency in the treatment phase. Finally, there is insufficient data to establish whether CDSS generates more favorable or unfavorable primary clinical outcomes in PHC.