Clinical decision support systems are like smart assistants for doctors. These software tools use patient data, medical guidelines, and research to help healthcare providers make better, faster decisions.
Imagine having a knowledgeable colleague by your side, offering expert advice in real-time. That’s what Clinical decision support software development aims to be.
The global clinical decision support systems market size was estimated at $5.30 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10.79% from 2024 to 2030.
This shows there will be a huge need for CDSS and businesses looking to invest in clinical decision support software development. So, if you are also among those who wants to make a clinical decision support software, then read this blog till the end.
This blog will cover everything from features, steps, benefits and costs to help you create a Clinical Decision Support Software.
So, let’s begin!
What is Clinical Decision Support Software?
A Clinical decision support system is a software that uses data, knowledge, and patient data to help physicians make sound choices. It combines a lot of medical knowledge with information about a patient’s health to give advice, alerts, and important facts that help the provider make decisions.
The purpose of a clinical decision custom software development solution is to make healthcare better by giving caregivers data that are based on research at the point of care.
Future Predictions And Projections
- About 47% of the market will be made in preventive care by 2028, according to estimates.
- By 2022, the AI medical software service market was expected to be worth nearly 7.2 billion yuan, which is about 94 percent more than it was in 2018.
- A poll done in 2023 found that just under 20% of healthcare decisions in the Asia-Pacific region were based on AI tools like ChatGPT/Bar.
- The world market for clinical decision support systems was worth USD 5.30 billion in 2023, and it’s expected to grow at a rate of 10.79% per year from 2024 to 2030.
Types of Clinical Decision Support Software
The purpose of Clinical Decision Support Software (CDSS) is to give healthcare providers real-time facts and ideas for better patient care. There are mainly two distinct types of CDSS solution:
1. Knowledge-Based CDSS
This software product development software makes use of certain medical expertise, often in the form of guidelines or policies. By comparing patient data to these rules, they come up with suggestions. As examples,
- Diagnostic support systems: Help doctors figure out what might be wrong by looking at the signs and test results.
- Treatment support systems: Give advice on the right medicines, doses, or treatment plans.
- Guideline-based systems: Make sure that clinical practice standards are followed.
2. Non-Knowledge-Based CDSS
These systems look for trends in patient data using complicated algorithms and statistical models. A lot of the time, they use AI development solutions and machine learning. Some examples are:
- Predictive modeling systems: It predicts how the disease will get worse or how the patient will do.
- Risk assessment tools: Find people who are likely to get certain diseases.
- Decision support systems based on natural language processing: It looks at clinical notes to find useful information and new ideas.
To make it easier for people to get details and ideas at the point of care, both types of CDSS can be built into EMR/EHR software development software.
How Does Clinical Decision Support Software Work?
Health care professionals can use Clinical Decision Support Software to help them make sound decisions about how to care for their patients. Here’s a basic version of how it works:
1. Data Collection
Electronic health records (EHRs), medical devices, and outside databases are some of the places where CDS software gets useful patient data. It can include things like medical history, vital signs, lab findings, demographics, and more.
2. Knowledge Base
The software uses a huge information base that has medical guidelines, protocols, best practices based on evidence, and expert knowledge. This information is always being updated to represent the newest developments in medicine.
3. Data Analysis
To compare the collected patient data to the information base, the software uses complex algorithms. Based on the patient’s state and history, it finds patterns, trends, and possible risks.
4. Decision Support
The software gives the healthcare worker personalized suggestions, alerts, or reminders. These ideas can include possible diagnoses, treatments, ways to stay healthy, or possible drug conflicts.
5. Integration
The CDS software works with the healthcare provider’s process without any problems. It usually shows up as pop-up alerts, built into the EHR, or with other easy-to-use interfaces. This lets people get quick and useful help making decisions at the point of care.
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Major Steps of Clinical Decision Support Software Development
Clinical Decision Support Software development requires a methodical and careful approach to make sure that the software helps healthcare workers make good clinical choices. The main steps that went into making CDSS are described below by our expert developers:
Step 1 – Define Your Target Audience
When you start clinical decision support software development, you need to know who you’re making it for and what they need. With the target audience’s wants and needs considered, both the client and the seller can see the solution clearly in the future.
It will be easy to choose which technologies and features should be included, such as virtual reality, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things. Software developers can make better products when they have good relationships with clients who might buy their products.
Step 2 – Collect Information About Your Product Idea
If you want to make Clinical Decision Support software, you need to make sure you have all the information you need to make a medical product, like EMR software, before you start making it. It will help you in deciding what is required for software development.
Step 3 – Design A Prototype
Whether you’re starting clinical decision support software development or a hospital administration system, having a functional prototype that users can interact with is essential. A wireframe that enables user interaction with the product should be included in your prototype.
When developing software for medical devices, prototyping is crucial for several reasons: You can test the product in this way before making it or can take help from a software testing services provider.
This way, you can get reviews to ensure you are on the right track before putting a lot of time and money into clinical decision support software development. If you make changes to your project as you go, you can avoid problems and fix them before they get out of hand.
Step 4 – Develop Your Final Prototype
It is time to build the final version of the Clinical Decision Support software prototype once you have planned the project using prototyping technologies and tools.
You need to know how to make software that works in the healthcare field and keep up with changes in technology. Being clear on how your software should look when it’s done is the most important thing.
Step 5 – Create Code to Write Your Software
When a medical device software development company makes Clinical Decision Support Software from the start, they need to put in time and work, but they don’t have to spend months writing code for each thing. It might take you less time to make the product if you use a software development kit or other third-party software that can be added to your project.
Knowing your audience’s wants and needs inside and out is vital for a successful CDSS development. By asking the customer for feedback, you can easily pick the best programming languages for their needs and make sure they are happy with the final result when you are done with Clinical Decision Support Software development.
Step 6 – Collect Feedback from Users and Deliver To Client
It is not a good idea to put out Clinical Decision Support software before users have tried and looked it over. So, you need to get reviews from people who use your medical software and make a list of things that could be better.
Last, make sure that your project gets finished in the best way possible. You should give the software along with all updates and documents that are needed. Even if you need to get the product out quickly, make sure people have enough time to test it and give you feedback.
Key Features of Clinical Decision Support Software Development
To ensure the software’s success, features are crucial. If you want to make a CDSS system for your healthcare business, you need to include the following features by consulting with an IT consulting services provider. Let’s take a look at the functions of Clinical Decision Support Software:
Feature | Description |
Evidence-Based Medicine Integration | You can add the most recent clinical recommendations, study results, and best practices to help people make decisions. |
Knowledge Base Management | Keeps a complete and organized library of medical information like disease states, treatments, drug combinations, and patient groups. |
Rule and Algorithm Development | Makes and improves logical rules and formulas that are used to look at patient data and make suggestions. |
Patient Data Integration | Hire dedicated developers who can combine patient data from many sources like EHRs, tests, images, and wearable tech, without any problems. |
Real-Time Decision Support | At the point of care, it gives timely and useful advice to improve professional processes. |
Alert and Reminder Systems | Sets off alarms for important events like drug combinations, allergies, or test results that don’t seem right. |
Personalized Recommendations | Makes suggestions based on the patient’s tastes, medical background, and other factors. |
User Interface Design | With Clinical Decision Support Software development, you create tools that are easy to understand and use so that users can connect with the CDSS more effectively. |
Workflow Integration | You can integrate smoothly with current healthcare processes to cause as few problems as possible. |
Interoperability | CDSS ensures compatibility with different healthcare systems and data standards. |
Analytics and Reporting | When you build commercial service software for healthcare sector, it offers tools for analyzing data, keeping an eye on performance, and making quality better. |
Security and Privacy | It protects patient data and follows the rules by putting in place strong security measures. |
Best 5 Clinical Decision Support Software
Clinical Decision Support Software helps doctors make better decisions by providing them with helpful information at the right time. Here are five popular CDSS alternatives:
1. Epic
- What it does: A widely used system that offers a range of tools to help doctors with everything from drug interactions to treatment guidelines.
- How it helps: By providing quick access to patient information and suggesting the best course of action, Epic saves doctors time and improves patient care.
2. Oracle Cerner
- What it does: Another big name in healthcare software, Cerner offers CDSS features like medication management, allergy alerts, and reminders for preventive care.
- How it helps: It helps doctors stay organized, avoid medical errors, and ensure patients get the care they need.
3. IBM Watson Health
- What it does: AI is used to look at huge amounts of medical data and give doctors useful information.
- How it helps: Through finding patterns and trends in patient data, Watson Health can assist doctors in making more accurate evaluations and creating personalized treatment plans.
4. DynaMed
- What it does: It gives doctors evidence-based outlines of medical topics that make it easy for them to keep up with the latest research.
- How it helps: DynaMed helps doctors give the best care to their patients by keeping them up to date on the latest medical discoveries.
5. Micromedex
- What it does: It provides in-depth details about drugs, including combinations, doses, and side effects.
- How it helps: Micromedex helps doctors give safe and effective medicines by giving them easy access to specific drug information.
Benefits of Clinical Decision Support Software Development
Clinical Decision Support software development is now a vital part of modern healthcare. It helps doctors make better choices and patients do better. So, if you are thinking to make software similar to CDSS, then you need to know its benefits:
1. Enhanced Patient Safety
- Reduced medical errors: It is much less likely that bad things will happen when CDS systems look for possible drug combinations, allergies, and dosage mistakes.
- The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) released a study that found CDS treatments can stop up to 88,000 bad drug events every year in the US.
2. Improved Quality of Care
- Optimized treatment plans: CDS systems give guidelines and suggestions based on data, which makes care plans that are more efficient and fit the needs of each patient. However, if you want to develop an existing software into a healthcare application, then you must consult with a healthcare app development company.
- Studies have shown that CDS interventions can make people follow treatment guidelines 5–15% better.
3. Increased Efficiency
- Streamlined workflows: Clinical Decision Support Software development solutions can handle routine jobs like entering orders and keeping records, which gives doctors more time to care for patients.
- A study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that CDS treatments can help doctors and nurses save around 10 to 15 minutes on each patient visit.
4. Reduced Healthcare Costs
- Preventive care: CDS systems can find people who are likely to get chronic diseases and suggest ways to keep them from getting them. This can help avoid expensive problems.
- Health care costs can be cut by 20 to 30 percent if problems are found early and treated with CDS.
5. Enhanced Diagnostic Accuracy
- Support for decision-making: Clinicians can get more accurate diagnoses from CDS systems because they give them useful patient data, diagnostic tools, and expert knowledge.
- Studies have shown that CDS systems can make diagnoses 5–10% more accurate.
6. Improved Patient Engagement
- Personalized care plans: By giving people the right knowledge and self-management tools, CDS systems can give them the power to be involved in their own healthcare.
- More involvement from patients through CDS has been linked to better health results and happier patients.
Challenges and Limitations in Traditional Clinical Decision Support
Even though traditional clinical decision support systems are useful, they have some problems and restrictions that AI-based systems are meant to fix. As per the Clinical Decision Support Software development services provider, here is a list of some important challenges:
● Lack of Integration
It may be hard for traditional clinical decision support systems to work with current healthcare processes and EHR. This can cause communication and efficiency problems.
● Limited Scalability and Adaptability
As the amount and variety of patient data grows, some clinical decision support systems may not be able to handle it well. These systems might not be able to change with new medical information and changing healthcare needs. It could make them less useful for helping people make decisions quickly and correctly.
● Data Quality and Interoperability
It can be hard to make sure that the data in clinical decision support systems is correct, full, and can be shared between systems. As per the SAAS application development company, issues with data that aren’t consistent or full, or that can’t talk to each other between systems. It can make decision-support tools less reliable and useful.
● Alert Fatigue
A lot of alerts can be sent by traditional clinical decision support systems, which can cause “alert fatigue.” It gives doctors too much knowledge, which can make them less sensitive or overwhelmed. It’s also hard to sort and prioritize messages based on the specifics of each patient and the clinical urgency.
● Dependency on Manual Processes
There are still a lot of clinical decision support systems that depend on manual data entry and paperwork. This can lead to mistakes, inefficiency, and delays in the decision-making process. By using communication standards and automating data entry, processes can be streamlined and decision support systems can work better.
How Much Does Clinical Decision Support Software Development Cost?
It all comes down to money in the end. It’s clear that you want to make the best healthcare decision support software possible while keeping costs as low as possible. But “what will be the Clinical Decision Support Software Development Cost?”. Well, it lies between $10,000-$30,000 or go beyond as per your project requirement.
However, if you are thinking of healthcare app development, then healthcare website development cost will be somewhere the same as above.
Also, the cost to build Clinical Decision Support Software (CDSS) can fluctuate on multiple factors like software complexity, functionalities, tech stack etc. Let’s now look at the below table for more clear image:
Software Complexity | Cost Estimation |
Simple CDSS Software | $10000-$15000 |
Medium CDSS Software | $16000-$24000 |
Complex CDSS Software | $30000+ |
Ready to Build Clinical Decision Support Software?
Clinical Decision Support Systems development software changes the way doctors make decisions. These tools give quick, correct, and personalized info that makes things easier for doctors, improves patient outcomes, and standardizes care.
With healthcare changing all the time, Clinical Decision Support Software development will become even more important, making it an important tool for modern medicine. Dev Technosys can help you add cutting-edge CDSS to your healthcare services to make them better.
Our cutting-edge software solutions give healthcare professionals more power and make the experience of patients better. So, what are you waiting for? Talk to us right away to find out more.
FAQs
1. How Much Does It Cost To Develop Clinical Decision Support Software?
The Clinical Decision Support Software development cost will be affected by many variables. Usually, it may lie between $10000-$30000 based on your project complexity. However, if you develop a healthcare app then the cost will be comparatively low.
2. How Long Will Clinical Decision Support Software Development Take?
The time to make clinical decision support software may take 2 – 4 months for a simple CDSS system. But it can take more than 8 months if you go for complex CDSS software. So, it is advisable to take advice from a CDSS development company.
3. How To Monetize Clinical Decision Support Software?
- Subscription Model: Charge healthcare providers a recurring fee for software access.
- Per-User Licensing: License software to individual clinicians or departments.
- Value-Based Pricing: Tie costs to improved outcomes, like reduced medical errors or cost savings.
- Data Licensing: Generate revenue from anonymized patient data for research or analytics.
4. What Are the Benefits of Clinical Decision Support Software Development?
- Improved patient outcomes
- Enhanced patient safety
- Increased efficiency
- Lower healthcare costs
- Better informed decisions
5. What are Popular Clinical Decision Support Software?
We have listed the best CDSS system for your reference:
- Hearst
- Elsevier
- Cerner Corporation
- McKesson
- Epic