Consumer-Centered Cognitive Support through Clinical Decision Support

Two things have been merging in my mind:

1. A preliminary report released two weeks ago by the National Research Council of the National Academies titled "Computational Technology for Effective Health Care: Immediate Steps and Strategic Directions." In my previous post, I discussed how this report criticizes the bulk of today's health information technologies and offers recommendations for innovative (disruptive) technologies. Included in the report is a call for the invention of a new type of software program that offers "Consumer-centered Cognitive Support (CCS)" (also known as Patient-Centered Cognitive Support (PCCS). CSS consists of computerized methods that assist healthcare providers and consumers in making better decisions and taking more competent actions.
2. A webinar presented last week by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) National Resource Center for Health IT, titled "A National Web Conference on Evaluating Measures of Success Using Clinical Decision Support." The presenters discussed current day "Clinical Decision Support (CDS)" software systems, which are still in their infancy and are designed to assist healthcare providers and consumers in making better decisions and responding more competently.

It seems obvious to me that the next generation of CDS systems should, therefore, be multifunctional programs that focus on fostering CSS.

In an effort to clarify my thoughts, I've begun composing the following PowerPoint presentation defining CSS and CDS, and the intersection between them. I'll have more to say about this in future posts.

Click an image to enlarge it.