Systematic review of the performance evaluation of clinicians with or without the aid of machine learning clinical decision support system.

Background: For the adoption of machine learning clinical decision support systems (ML-CDSS) it is critical to understand the performance aid of the ML-CDSS. However, it is not trivial, how the performance aid should be evaluated. To design reliable performance evaluation study, both the knowledge from the practical framework of experimental study design and the understanding of domain specific design factors are required.

Objective: The aim of this review study was to form a practical framework and identify key design factors for experimental design in evaluating the performance of clinicians with or without the aid of ML-CDSS.

Methods: The study was based on published ML-CDSS performance evaluation studies. We systematically searched articles published between January 2016 and December 2022. From the articles we collected a set of design factors. Only the articles comparing the performance of clinicians with or without the aid of ML-CDSS using experimental study methods were considered.

Results: The identified key design factors for the practical framework of ML-CDSS experimental study design were performance measures, user interface, ground truth data and the selection of samples and participants. In addition, we identified the importance of randomization, crossover design and training and practice rounds. Previous studies had shortcomings in the rationale and documentation of choices regarding the number of participants and the duration of the experiment.

Conclusion: The design factors of ML-CDSS experimental study are interdependent and all factors must be considered in individual choices.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12553-023-00763-1.