Mixed results in the safety performance of computerized physician order entry.
Computerized physician order entry is a required feature for hospitals seeking to demonstrate meaningful use of electronic medical record systems and qualify for federal financial incentives. A national sample of sixty-two hospitals voluntarily used a simulation tool designed to assess how well safety decision support worked when applied to medication orders in computerized order entry. The simulation detected only 53 percent of the medication orders that would have resulted in fatalities and 10-82 percent of the test orders that would have caused serious adverse drug events. It is important to ascertain whether actual implementations of computerized physician order entry are achieving goals such as improved patient safety.
Metzger
Jane
J
CSC Healthcare in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. jmetzger2@csc.com
Welebob
Emily
E
Bates
David W
DW
Lipsitz
Stuart
S
Classen
David C
DC
D003198:Computer Simulation; D000075202:Contraindications; D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D050316:Medical Order Entry Systems / Q000592:standards*; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008510:Medication Systems, Hospital; D061214:Patient Safety; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D017751:Safety Management
D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations