Survey of Physicians’ Perspectives about Dose-Related Alerts based on the Clinical Decision Support System at Friendship Hospital

Abstract

Objectives: To identify physicians' perspectives and evaluations on the dose-related alerts based on the Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) at Friendship Hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using a self-constructed questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale to survey the opinions and evaluations of physicians. Results: The response rate of the study was 54.0% (101 out of 187 total physicians in the hospital), with 63.4% of the physicians belonging to the Internal Medicine departments. The majority of physicians rated the dose alert highly on various aspects, including interface (4.37/5), quality of information (4.12/5), technology quality (4.07/5), and overall impact of alerts on the quality of prescribing (4.07/5). Furthermore, 70.8% of physicians expressed a need for additional information on alternative solutions when encountering alerts. For dose alerts related to metformin, rosuvastatin, and trimetazidine, the main reason why physicians did not accept the alerts was due to concerns regarding their clinical significance for patients. Some physicians felt that the alerts were based solely on renal function at a particular time, which was not sufficient grounds to stop or reduce medication dosages. Conclusion: Overall, physicians highly appreciated the content presented in each dose alert on CDSS. They also believed that the alert system positively impacted the quality of prescribing for patients. However, besides the issue of clinical significance for patients needing clarification in alerts, consultation from clinical pharmacists is necessary to increase acceptance rates of alerts.