The Use of Nudge Strategies in Improving Physicians' Prescribing Behavior: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Nudging as a method to improve prescribing decisions has gained popularity during the past decade.We find that nudging can improve prescribing decisions, but effect sizes are mostly small, and the size of derived health outcomes is unclear.Most studies use feedback and error-stopping nudges to target excessive opioid or antibiotic prescribing, making heterogeneity analyses across nudge types difficult.Further research on the cost-effectiveness of nudges and generalizability is needed to guide decision makers considering nudging as a tool to guide prescribing decisions.