UpToDate

Clinical decision support improves patient safety

Improving patient safety and outcomes is critical, especially in today’s healthcare environment. The World Health Organization reports that approximately 43 million patient safety incidences occur every year and the cost associated with medication errors has been estimated at US$ 42 billion annually or almost 1% of total global health expenditure.1

In the latest NHS Improvement patient safety report, there were approximately 1,861,581 incidents that occurred between April 2016 and March 2017 in England. 483,982 reported incidents were due to diagnosis, medication or treatment errors, representing 26% of all reported incidents.

A seismic shift is underway, from providers being at the centre of the healthcare universe to patients being the focus of that continuum. By putting patients at the centre of their own care, providers can function more consistently and seamlessly to enable greater patient safety.


Patients receive the safest care when clinical teams use current, evidence-based treatment recommendations.

UpToDate is an evidence-based clinical decision support resource, trusted by nearly 60% of UK Trusts and Health Boards to help their clinicians make the right decisions at the point of care. It is proven to change the way clinicians practice medicine and has been associated with improving patient safety.

A study of prescribing errors among junior doctors at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust showed a 50% decrease in medication errors by doctors equipped with clinical decision support.

1 http://www.who.int/patientsafety/en/

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