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Lee A. Norman, MD, MHS
Swedish Hospital Medical Center Seattle

JAMA. 1987;258(17):2374-2375.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

The excellent articles by Dr Shortliffe¹ and Barnett et al² in the July 3, 1987, issue of JAMA effectively update the reader as to the status of computer-assisted decision support tools that are becoming available to physicians. I think they could have emphasized even more one of the benefits that results from systems such as DXplain and others that will be developed: improved quality of patient care. With the current emphasis on quality assurance in all areas of medical practice, such systems offer promise for actually doing something to improve care. Information-driven support tools, as described by McDonald³ and others,⁴ suggest that "the individual physician is non-perfectable," and systems that provide information to physicians have been shown to improve the quality of care.

Traditional methods of quality assurance based on retrospective chart reviews and process studies followed by physician education have generally not . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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