Clinical Decision Support System Does Not Improve CKD Outcomes

THURSDAY, May 14, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- A clinical decision support system (CDSS) for chronic kidney disease (CKD) does not improve physician behavior or patient outcomes over a control intervention, according to a study published online May 8 in JAMA Network Open.Xizi Zheng, M.D., from Peking University First Hospital in Beijing, and colleagues conducted a cluster randomized clinical trial to examine whether a CDSS for CKD could improve physician behavior and patient outcomes in primary care. The phase 1 analysis included data from the initial six-month follow-up period (June 10 to Dec. 10, 2023). A total of 3,390 patients with CKD from 30 primary care centers were included; centers were randomly assigned to intervention or control. Both groups received nephrologist-delivered training on CKD management; the intervention group also had a CDSS embedded into the electronic health record.Six-month follow-up was completed by 3,055 patients (1,743 and 1,312 in the intervention and control groups, respectively). The researchers observed an increase in CKD diagnosis rates by 21.4 and 27.9 percentage points in the intervention and control groups, respectively, with a nonsignificant between-group difference. Parallel improvements were seen in renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitor use, sodium-dependent glucose transporter 2 inhibitor use, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol control, with no differences between the groups. No improvement was seen in blood pressure or glycated hemoglobin."These findings suggest that in primary care settings with suboptimal baseline conditions, targeted education and policy support remain foundational, whereas CDSS should integrate dynamic feedback and interruptive alerts to optimize effectiveness," the authors write.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Clinical Decision Support System Does Not Improve CKD Outcomes

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