Effectiveness of Clinical Decision Support Based Intervention in the Improvement of Care for Adult Sickle Cell Disease Patients in Primary Care

Introduction: Although most patients with rare diseases like sickle cell disease (SCD) are treated in the primary care setting, primary care physicians may find it challenging to keep abreast of medication improvements and complications associated with treatment for rare and complex diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a clinical decision support (CDS)-based intervention system for transfusional iron overload in adults with SCD to improve management in primary care. Methods: An electronic medical record based clinical decision support system for potential transfusional iron overload in SCD patients in primary care was evaluated. The intervention was implemented in 3 family medicine clinics with a control group of 3 general internal medicine clinics. Data were collected in the 6 months before the intervention and 6 months after the intervention. There were 47 patients in the family medicine group and 24 in the general internal medicine group. Results: There was no management change in the control group while the intervention group improved primary care management from 0% to 44% (P < .001). Conclusion: A CDS tool can improve management of SCD patients in primary care.