With a simple click, doctors can potentially save lives and reduce heart attack and stroke risks for thousands of patients by helping them have their statins on hand. Researchers “nudged” doctors toward this through a default change in the electronic health record that made prescribing a 90-day supply of the medication the default option instead of actively choosing a 30-day supply. The study, from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, was published this month in JAMA Internal Medicine.
“Making the right choice the easy choice is a core tenet of nudging. What’s exciting is that this small change requiring zero additional work on the part of clinicians could have such a profound impact,” said senior author M. Kit Delgado, MD, MS, faculty director of the Nudge Unit, CHIBE Associate Director, and an associate professor of Emergency Medicine and Epidemiology.