A decision support system for improving doctors' prescribing behavior

The study adopts a well-defined game theory with a decision support system (DSS) to embed the critical factors involved in coordination game equilibrium. A data-warehouse-based DSS is used as a coordinating instrument along with the disclosure of quality report cards. Feedback on prescribing, giving information on aggregated data, along with the DSS, could be sufficient to improve prescribing behavior. The aim of this study was to apply a DSS with pre-play communication of the coordination game theory to the improvement of doctors' antibiotic prescribing behavior. We examined whether the DSS improved the prescribing behavior, and assessed how well the participating doctors improved quality of care. We found the group using the system had a greater decrease in antibiotic prescription than the non-DSS group. This study concluded that the DSS with game-theory modeling has made significant contributions for improving the doctors' prescribing behavior. Future research directions and managerial implications are addressed as well. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.