DSS in Healthcare: Advances and Opportunities

Abstract

Decision support systems (DSSs) in healthcare have generally targeted quality, risk mitigation, productivity, and profitability outcomes of hospitals. This chapter reviews advances made by DSSs in supporting these areas and opportunities that remain. We argue that the role of DSSs in improving learning for decision makers is crucial and present steps to facilitate this. Changes in the behavior of physicians and administrators will be critical to the success of DSSs. We cite information technologies available to improve healthcare decision making and frame research questions for future information systems researchers. Finally, we propose that the future of DSSs in healthcare will involve the development of capabilities to integrate various types of data, recognize patterns, and take proactive actions.