Clinical decision support automates care gap detection among primary care patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Although guidelines recommend primary care–driven management of NAFLD, workflow constraints hinder feasibility. Leveraging electronic health records to risk stratify patients proposes a scalable, workflow-integrated strategy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively evaluated an electronic health record-embedded clinical decision support system’s ability to risk stratify patients with NAFLD and detect gaps in care. Patients missing annual laboratory testing to calculate Fibrosis-4 Score (FIB-4) or those missing necessary linkage to further care were considered to have a gap in care. Linkage to care was defined as either referral for elastography-based testing or for consultation in hepatology clinic depending on clinical and biochemical characteristics. RESULTS: Patients with NAFLD often lacked annual screening labs within primary care settings (1129/2154; 52%). Linkage to care was low in all categories, with <3% of patients with abnormal FIB-4 undergoing further evaluation. DISCUSSION: Significant care gaps exist within primary care for screening and risk stratification of patients with NAFLD and can be efficiently addressed using electronic health record functionality.