SynthesisAge and ageing2025
Evaluating the role of clinical decision support systems in medication safety for older people: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Age and ageing, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Medication safety in older adults in India: an integrative PhD synthesis of direct evidence and contextual implementation evidence.Global health action · 2026Pooled it
- Medication Management Strategies at Hospital Admission: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Clinical and translational science · 2026Pooled it
- Technology-Driven Decision Support for Opioid Tapering: A Scoping Review.Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology · 2026Article
- Drug-Induced QT Prolongation: Associations Between Risk Classifications in a Swedish Clinical Decision Support System and Clinical Outcomes.Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOlder people are particularly vulnerable to medication errors and adverse drug events (ADEs) due to polypharmacy and age-related physiological changes. Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) presents itself as a potential solution for clinicians, but their effectiveness in care for older people remains uncertain.
objectivesTo evaluate the impact of CDSS on reducing potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and improving medication safety amongst older people. DESIGN AND
settingThis was a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating CDSS interventions in older populations (aged 65 or older).
methodsA comprehensive search was conducted in OVID Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Library from inception to April 2025. Eligible studies were RCTs assessing CDSS in reducing PIM use and ADEs amongst older people. Data on medication safety outcomes (PIM, deprescription and ADEs) were extracted. The findings were narratively synthesized, and the certainty of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE framework. The Cochrane Risk-of-Bias 2 tool was also applied.
resultsA total of 16 RCTs (comprising 135,108 participants) were included. CDSS significantly reduced PIM initiation by up to 18% (moderate certainty) and improved deprescription rates, with intervention groups achieving 55.4% PIM discontinuation. However, CDSS had inconsistent effects on ADEs (low certainty).
conclusionsCDSS improved prescribing practices by reducing inappropriate medication use in older people. However, its impact on ADEs was less evident. Implementation challenges such as clinician adherence, alert fatigue and system usability must be addressed to optimize CDSS effectiveness in care for older people. Further research is needed for long-term evaluation and refinement of CDSS.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.