India, with its population of nearly 1.3 billion people spread throughout urban and rural areas, faces a unique healthcare dilemma. According to the WHO's Global Health Observatory report, the qualified doctor-to-population ratio in 2020 was 7.35 to 10,000]. Not only that but new research and data are continuously being generated, which doctors must keep up with. To address these issues, onboarding into Digital Health is critical. Digital Health has the potential to level the playing field in healthcare, ensuring that all patients receive timely and appropriate care. Clinicians are increasingly embracing Digital Health to promote equity and improve access, moving away from traditional clinical practices towards evidence-based medicine.

According to Cathy Wolfe, CEO and President of Wolters Kluwer Global Growth Markets, "The shortage of doctors in India means that a significant percentage of individuals lack access to quality healthcare. Numerous research studies demonstrate that using high-quality, evidence-based clinical decision-support systems helps address that gap and can help improve health outcomes across populations. The importance of these tools in India and around the world transcends beyond modern technology; it is about evidence-based information that can help save lives every day."

Clinical Decision Support Systems are a strong way for clinicians to stay up to date on new evidence to diagnose and treat patients more quickly, accurately, and confidently. As data are gathered from across the world, a comprehensive clinical route is offered through CDSS that considers a patient's pre-existing comorbidities. This can be valuable, especially in diagnosing patients with multiple, rare, or complex conditions.

Wolter Kluwer’s UpToDate is one such CDSS tool that offers evidence-based knowledge in more than 25 disciplines, with over 2 million healthcare professionals worldwide, including 40,000 unique users in India. According to a study by National University Hospital in Singapore, clinicians using UpToDate at the bedside changed patient care decisions 37% of the time.

Harish Ramachandran, Country Head - India and SAARC at Wolters Kluwer's Clinical Effectiveness division, stresses the importance of the integration of CDSS at the institutional level as it ensures the implementation of evidence-based medicine at every stage of patient care. He says, "Although medical practitioners have the requisite knowledge and education in their profession, access to the most recent CDSS tools and resources is critical to helping to reduce human errors."