A new study, funded by Digital Health Solutions, LLC, through a grant provided by the Child Neurology Foundation, shows that computerized decision support increases communication with patients and families about Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP).

The recently published peer reviewed publication, available to read here in Applied Clinical Informatics, finds that discussions between clinicians and families about SUDEP significantly increased after introducing a systematic, computerized screening and decision support module – Child Health Improvement through Computer Automation (CHICA).

The CHICA–SUDEP module screened 7,154 children age 0 to 21 years for seizures over 7 months; 108 (1.5%) reported epilepsy. One hundred and one families were interviewed after primary care encounters (75 before and 26 after implementation) over 9 months. After starting CHICA–SUDEP, the number of caregivers who reported discussing SUDEP with their child’s clinician more than doubled, and when the parent recalled who brought up the topic, 80% of the time it was the clinician.

These tools demonstrate potential for increasing patient-centered education about SUDEP, as well as incorporating other guideline-recommended algorithms into primary and subspecialty cares.

Learn more about SUDEP here and get the latest updates about the CHICA-CN project here.