China’s NHC Launches Trial Specifications for Clinical Decision Support Systems in Hospitals

The National Health Commission (NHC) has issued a set of specifications for the application and management of clinical decision support systems (CDSS) in medical institutions, effective immediately. These specifications aim to address the needs of hospital informatization, standardize the application management of CDSS, enhance medical safety and quality, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of medical professionals and patients.

Scope and Application of the Document
The document is applicable to the construction, application, safety, and management of CDSS in comprehensive hospitals at or above the Class 2 level, specialized hospitals, and maternal and child health centers that implement CDSS. Other levels and categories of medical institutions can refer to this standard for their CDSS implementation.

Basic Requirements for CDSS
CDSS should adhere to the following basic requirements:

1. The source of clinical knowledge should be authoritative, including laws, regulations, guidelines, nationally recognized medication information, and expert consensus, among others.
2. The clinical knowledge base must be updated promptly, with an update cycle not exceeding six months. An exit mechanism for knowledge base content must be in place to ensure outdated or unsuitable knowledge is deleted or updated without delay.
3. The use of CDSS should maintain audit logs for traceability and evaluation purposes.

Conditions for Implementing CDSS in Medical Institutions
Medical institutions implementing CDSS should meet the following conditions:

1. They should have a robust foundation of medical information systems, including electronic medical record systems, hospital information management systems, and medical quality control systems.
2. All systems within the medical institution should achieve integration, interconnection, or data sharing.
3. The data within the medical institution information system should be unified, standardized, complete, and accurate, serving as structured data required by CDSS.-Fineline Info & Tech