Efficacy of a Mobile Clinical Decision Support System (CaPtyVa CCR App) to Improve Performance of Gastroenterology and Coloproctology Specialists in Colorectal Cancer Screening and Surveillance According to Guideline Recommendations: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

The proper implementation of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) has the potential to improve health care quality and reduce costs by promoting the use of evidence-based interventions. However, these benefits vary largely according to the way CPGs are put into effect. The behavior of physicians towards CPGs is a determining factor in their successful implementation. It has been suggested that physicians have difficulties in memorizing and processing the complex information contained in CPGs.

Computer-Based Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSSs) are defined as "any software designed to aid in clinical decision making in which characteristics of individual patients are matched to a computerized knowledge. These systems have shown to: improve prescribing practices, reduce serious medication errors, enhance the delivery of preventive care services, and improve adherence to recommended care standards.

Recent evidence had also suggests that mobile technologies could provide an effective approach in order to allow these Decision Support Systems to be implemented (Mobile Decision Support Systems, MDSS) without requiring personal computers or its integration into other clinical information systems.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a global major medical and public health challenge, accounting for 881.000 deaths annually. Evidence-based CRC screening strategies have shown to be effective in reducing CRC mortality. Hence, the majority of CRC deaths are believed to be the result of CRC screening process breakdowns. Multiple studies report overuse and underuse of colonoscopy, as well as poor physician's knowledge about CRC screening CPG's and their inability to apply them in daily clinical practice. All these factors may threaten the effectiveness of CRC screening programs.

The above mentioned problematic added to recent evidence showing a strong willingness of the physicians to use mobile-based apps in order to assist them in making guideline-concordant recommendations, motivated us to satisfy this need and we developed the first MDSS(CaPtyVa CCR app), to assist physicians in the CRC screening and surveillance task process.