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Open Access
CC BY 4.0 · Appl Clin Inform 2025; 16(05): 1381-1392
DOI: 10.1055/a-2620-3244
Review Article

The Effect of Computerized Alerts on Prescribing and Patient Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Authors

  • Brian G. Bell

    1   NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Research Collaboration, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom

  • Adam Khimji

    2   Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom
    3   University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom

  • Basharat Hussain

    3   University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom

  • Anthony J. Avery

    1   NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Research Collaboration, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Funding This research study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Greater Manchester Patient Safety Research Collaboration (GMPSRC). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of NIHR or GMPSRC.
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Abstract

Objective

In recent years, there has been an expansion in the literature on the effects of computerized alerts on prescribing and patient outcomes. The aim of our study was to examine the impact of these systems on clinician prescribing and patient outcomes.

Methods

We searched three databases (Medline, Embase, and PsychINFO) for studies that had been conducted since 2009 and included studies that examined the effects of alerts at the point of prescribing. We extracted data from 69 studies.

Results

Most studies reported a beneficial effect on prescribing of computerized alerts (n = 58, 84.1%), including all studies (n = 4) that used passive alerts. Seven of the 10 studies that reported on patient outcomes showed a beneficial effect. Both randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTS showed beneficial effects on prescribing across a range of different types of alerts. In 43 studies, it was possible to ascertain the effects of different types of alerts; the interventions that were most frequently associated with improvements in prescribing were drug-laboratory alerts (9/11; 81.8%); dose range checking (6/7; 85.7%); formulary alerts (8/9; 88.9%), and drug-allergy alerts (4/4; 100%). However, most of the studies did not satisfy the quality criteria.

Conclusion

Most of the studies found a beneficial effect of computerized alerts on prescribing. We have also shown that these benefits are apparent for a range of different types of alerts. These findings support the continued development, implementation, and evaluation of computerized alerts for prescribing.

Keywords

computerized alerts - prescribing - patient outcomes - human–computer interaction - alerting-drug–drug interaction

Protection of Human and Animal Subjects

Human and animal subjects were not included in the project.


Supplementary Material



Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 01. Dezember 2024

Angenommen: 28. März 2025

Accepted Manuscript online:
26. Mai 2025

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
17. Oktober 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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