A protocol processing system (ProtoVIEW), containing therapeutic trauma protocols, was used in the Accident and Emergency (A and E) department for a period of 7 months to investigate the impact of automated protocols on firstly, medical decision making of physicians and secondly, on quality of treatments eventually received by the patients. A randomized controlled trial showed that mandatory use of the system led to a more uniform working strategy while fracture treatment only seemed to improve in a subgroup of patient for whom residents established a correct diagnosis.