HEART-DOC: integrated decision support to improve quality of cardiovascular care in general practice

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) involves a group of serious conditions. Knowledge about managing CVD is growing quickly, making it hard to keep up-to-date. To help physicians provide care based on the latest insights, modern electronic patient record systems now include digital tools to support decision-making. A new generation of these tools is currently implemented in Dutch primary care, the ED-CDS. This "deeply integrated software" (DGS) offers even more tailored advice for personalised care. 

Aim

The effects of DGS on quality of care are insufficiently understood. This projects evaluates how GPs use this new DGS system, focusing on its impact on CVD care. The results will help improve DGS implementation and support GPs and patients in managing CVD more effectively and thereby improve quality of primary care in the community.

Approach

By analyzing data from practices using DGS and comparing it to those without, we will assess how well patients are treated according to the latest guidelines after one year. We will assess clinical outcome data by obtaining depersonalized primary care data extracted by the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (Nivel). In addition, we will conduct qualitative research to learn from experiences with the platform.