Development of clinical decision support systems (CDSs) has tended to focus on 
facilitating medication management. An understanding of behavioral medicine 
perspectives on the usefulness of a CDS for patient care can expand CDSs to 
improve management of chronic disease. The purpose of this study is to explore 
feedback from behavioral medicine providers regarding the potential for CDSs to 
improve decision-making, care coordination, and guideline adherence in pain 
management. Qualitative methods were used to analyze semi-structured interview 
responses from behavioral medicine stakeholders following demonstration of an 
existing CDS for opioid prescribing, ATHENA-OT. Participants suggested that a 
CDS could assist with decision-making by educating providers, providing 
recommendations about behavioral therapy, facilitating risk assessment, and 
improving referral decisions. They suggested that a CDS could improve care 
coordination by facilitating division of workload, improving patient education, 
and increasing consideration and knowledge of options in other disciplines. 
Clinical decision support systems are promising tools for improving behavioral 
medicine care for chronic pain.