The clinical decision support resource shows impact in reducing medical errors, the third-highest cause of U.S. deaths.
Wolters Kluwer Health announced today that a Japanese study published in the International Journal of Medical Informatics found a significant association between use of UpToDate clinical decision support (CDS) and reduced diagnostic errors. Physicians who used UpToDate had a significantly lower rate of diagnostic errors compared with a control group without UpToDate (2 percent versus 24 percent). The authors concluded that “UpToDate use was significantly associated with diagnostic error reduction.”
The new research highlights the impact of Wolters Kluwer’s acclaimed decision support resource in reducing variability in care, increasing patient safety and improving clinical effectiveness.
The study comes after researchers at Johns Hopkins estimated in a 2016 study that medical errors should rank as the third leading cause of U.S. deaths.[1] In the new study, the team of Drs. Taro Shimizu, Takaaki Nemoto and Yasuharu Tokuda sought to evaluate how computer-based systems might help to prevent and reduce diagnostic errors. They conducted the study at the outpatient department of the Tokyo Joto Hospital, a community-based hospital in Tokyo, Japan.
“Diagnostic errors are common. Up to one in 10 diagnoses are incorrect and up to one in three people have experienced a diagnostic error. Diagnostic errors represent the largest proportion of malpractice claims with the highest total payouts in the United States” commented Peter Bonis, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Clinical Effectiveness, Wolters Kluwer. “The new study demonstrates that knowledge resources like UpToDate can make a substantial difference in helping clinicians with the diagnostic process.”
The study, “Effectiveness of a clinical knowledge support system for reducing diagnostic errors in outpatient care in Japan: A retrospective study” was published in the January 2018 issue of the International Journal of Medical Informatics.
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[1] Makary Martin A, Daniel Michael. Medical error—the third leading cause of death in the US BMJ 2016; 353:i2139
