Using advanced clinical decision support tools reduces mortality for pneumonia patients, according to a new study by researchers from Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Medical Center.
The computer program, developed at Intermountain, uses a patient's personal medical information as well as risk factors to alert emergency department physicians if a patient possibly has pneumonia. If pneumonia is confirmed by a physician, the CDS tool provides a calculated severity assessment and suggestions for how to manage pneumonia, like which antibiotic to choose, based on current treatment guidelines.
For the study, published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, researchers examined more than 4,000 patients who visited seven hospital EDs where the tool was either used or not. They found mortality rates decreased in EDs where the tool was used. In fact, they found that the tool saved up to 12 lives.
"Because of the complexity of pneumonia, physicians can't easily make consistent decisions that follow current treatment recommendations," said Nathan Dean, MD, a pulmonologist and chief of critical care medicine at Intermountain Medical Center and the study's lead author. "The result is, doctors have to rely on their unaided judgment on how to best treat pneumonia patients."
He emphasized that the tool doesn't "take over for doctors" but rather helps them make the best possible decision for their patients. "It's all about giving local doctors tools to be more consistent, objective and focused on best practices."
Dr. Dean and his team are planning wider deployment of the tool using commercially available EMR platforms.