Implementing national guidelines on risk prediction and primary prevention of coronary heart disease in a cardiology information system

Recently the Dutch Institute for Healthcare Improvement (CBO) published a national consensus concerning both risk prediction and guidelines for primary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD). The risk prediction algorithm used by the CBO was, after validating, taken as an input for an application, as part of the cardiology information system (CARIS) of the Leiden University Medical Center. By selecting the patient, the risk factors that are available in CARIS are filled in automatically. The remaining items are imported from the hospital information system. After that, the absolute risk on CHD is calculated and a treatment advice is presented Since no manual input is necessary, the risk estimation tool is quick and easy to use. With this predictive tool for clinical decision support, the physician can opt for an intervention to minimize disease risk, or prevent risk factor development in the future.