Playing in the clinical decision support sandbox: tools and training for all

OBJECTIVES: Introduce the CDS-Sandbox, a cloud-based virtual machine created to facilitate Clinical Decision Support (CDS) developers and implementers in the use of FHIR- and CQL-based open-source tools and technologies for building and testing CDS artifacts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The CDS-Sandbox includes components that enable workflows for authoring and testing CDS artifacts. Two workshops at the 2020 and 2021 AMIA Annual Symposia were conducted to demonstrate the use of the open-source CDS tools. RESULTS: The CDS-Sandbox successfully integrated the use of open-source CDS tools. Both workshops were well attended. Participants demonstrated use and understanding of the workshop materials and provided positive feedback after the workshops. DISCUSSION: The CDS-Sandbox and publicly available tutorial materials facilitated an understanding of the leading-edge open-source CDS infrastructure components. CONCLUSION: The CDS-Sandbox supports integrated use of the key CDS open-source tools that may be used to introduce CDS concepts and practice to the clinical informatics community.