Mandate CDS Hooks for Seamless Clinical Decision Support Integration

Recommendation: Certified Health IT must support the CDS Hooks specification as a standardized method for integrating external clinical decision support (CDS) services directly into EHR workflows. Rationale & Specifics: Integrating evidence-based guidance and advanced analytics at the point of care requires a standard interface.

1. Core Hooks and Functionality: Mandate support for key CDS Hooks (e.g., version 2.0, including the patient-view hook for context-aware information display and potentially order-sign or order-select for interventional CDS).
2. Data Prefetch and Authorization: Support must include prefetch of relevant US Core data elements and use of fhirAuthorization access tokens to allow CDS services to securely access necessary patient data via FHIR APIs.
3. Alternative to InfoButton: Position CDS Hooks as a modern, more interactive alternative to older context-passing mechanisms like InfoButton.
4. Certification: Testing should validate the EHR's ability to invoke CDS services at specified hook points, pass context correctly, handle returned CDS cards (information, suggestions, app links), and manage authorization for data access.