order sets will evolve over time. As medical data and research expands, a clinician will gain more and more options and support delivered to them, aligned to the latest standards of care. Through analytics of this experience-based data, there is the opportunity to uncover new practice- based evidence. This process will of course require robust analytics and audit trails of revisions of CDS content, to ensure transparency and trust that guidance remains credible and accurate. Simultaneously, we will also see clinicians gain greater efficiency in the ordering process. Two prominent examples where Elsevier has applied order set functionality is at the University of Kentucky HealthCare ® , where order sets have been implemented to help support over 9,000 healthcare workers across four hospitals, and at the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Health and Prevention where order sets are currently in their implementation phase. Seeing these solutions applied practically in real- world environments gives me great satisfaction. In conclusion, mixed opinions and misconceptions exist around the function of a CDS. However, the reality is that when a high quality CDS system is implemented correctly, it provides best practice guidance in tandem with decision making remaining with a clinician, offering them the best of both worlds, and ultimately leading to high quality care for the patient.
provide functionality and room for a clinician’s input. From base order sets, personalised care can be modified and refined through computerised provider order entry or an alternative physician clinician ordering ICT system. A common clinical example of this is a clinician adjusting medication to a higher dose than the order set initially suggests, due to the weight of a patient. A good order set allows this crucial, clinician control in its design. In a high-quality order set a clinician always has agency, and a clinician is always the final decision maker. As well as allowing clinicians to draw from the latest standards of care and guidelines, order sets also serve a valuable purpose when it comes to efficiency in clinical scenarios. For example, a clinician traditionally manages numerous patient treatment orders simultaneously. Their crucial role guides the next steps and actions of a whole team of caregivers. Match this with the fact that often a clinician will be responsible for a similar, core set of conditions, and the process becomes a crucial yet time consuming and tedious one, with a clinician having to repeatedly input similar orders. By pre-defining and creating groups of orders into an order set to cover common clinical scenarios, the entire process can be consolidated, making the workflow efficient and saving a clinician valuable time. What is particularly exciting to me is how
the decision-making process. Human memory is not perfect, especially when relating to complex decision making. This is no lack of proficiency on a clinician’s behalf, simply a fact of life. Precise information can be difficult to recall as it requires a clinician to draw exact information from a wide body of knowledge to pinpoint a precise treatment for the individual. This is a space where order sets can offer a supporting hand. Some would question whether the idea of standardisation could impact the quality and tailoring of care, after all, no two patients are the same. Good quality order sets
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