I-Corps: Translation Potential of a Clinical Decision Support System

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a clinical decision support (CDS) system that enables doctors to make better treatment decisions and employ team-based care to improve the management of patients with chronic disease. This project may also have a positive impact on patients by allowing them to better understand their care plan, adhere to their medications, and be active participants in their care. While the project currently focuses on hypertension management, the technology has the potential for management of other conditions. Overall, this project has a significant potential clinical impact, with opportunities to improve health outcomes for patients and reduce payer spending. This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with a first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of the technology. The solution is based on the development of an innovative, web-based, clinical decision support technology platform, built with industry standard specifications (i.e., Substitutable Medical Apps and Reusable Technology - SMART) and data connectivity and transfer via Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR). These features uniquely provide interoperability across various electronic health record (EHR) vendors. The core technology consists of an evidence-based hypertension treatment algorithm that is connected to the EHR via the FHIR programming interfaces. Through the extraction and processing of clinical data and patient-generated data, the system generates tailored treatment recommendations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.