Clinical decision support (CDS)

Why it matters

Hospitals carry heavy patient loads with few specialists, and decision support helps staff apply agreed protocols consistently. WHO's 2019 guideline on digital interventions for health system strengthening includes decision support for health workers among its recommendations [1]. WHO SMART guidelines translate guideline recommendations into computable decision logic that information systems can implement [2].

Key points

• Common forms include drug interaction and allergy alerts, early warning scores, order sets and reminders.
• Too many low value alerts cause alert fatigue, so rules should be few, relevant and graded by severity.
• WHO's principles for artificial intelligence in health include protecting human autonomy, so the clinician remains responsible for the decision [3].
• Rules should be configurable to national guidance rather than fixed by the supplier.

In Moana

Clinical rules flag patients by severity in MOANA Desktop; an AI generated summary supports the clinician, and the clinician reviews every flag. Moana does not diagnose or make clinical decisions.

Sources

1. WHO guideline: recommendations on digital interventions for health system strengthening, World Health Organization, 2019
2. SMART guidelines, World Health Organization, accessed 2026
3. WHO issues first global report on artificial intelligence in health and six guiding principles for its design and use, World Health Organization, 2021