Computerized clinical guidelines: current status & principles for future research

Abstract

Although it is widely accepted that the adoption of computerized clinical guidelines would improve the quality of the provided health care, their influence in the daily practice is limited. In this paper we provide insights on the core topics related to computer interpretable clinical guidelines and we present shortly the main approaches in the area. Then we discuss the current limitations, and we present three simple principles that according to our view should be adopted to enhance the penetration of computerized clinical guidelines in the health care organizations. The overall goal of this paper is not only to give readers a quick overview of the works in the area, but also to provide necessary insights for the practical understanding of the issues involved and draw directions for future research and development activities.