title: Are verbal orders a threat to patient safety?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The use of verbal orders has been identified as a potential contributor to poor quality and less safe care. As a result, many organisations have encouraged changing the verbal orders process and/or reducing/eliminating verbal orders altogether (Joint Commission (2005), Institute of Medicine (2001), Leapfrog organisation, Institute of Safe Medication Practices). Ironically there is a paucity of research evidence to support the widespread concern over verbal order.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This paper describes the very limited existing research on verbal orders, presents a model of verbal order use identifying potential error trigger points and suggests a verbal order research agenda in order to better understand the nature and extent of the potential patient care safety threat posed by verbal orders.
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri Center for Health Care Quality (CHCQ), One Hospital Drive, Columbia, MO 65212, USA. wakefielddo@health.missouri.edu
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Wakefield
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Wakefield
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008499:Medical Records / Q000592:standards*; D012449:Safety