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Immediate benefits realized following implementation of physician order entry at an academic medical center.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the benefits of computerized physician order entry (POE) and electronic medication administration record (eMAR) on the delivery of health care. DESIGN: Inpatient nursing units in an academic health system were the setting for the study. The study comprised before-and-after comparisons between phase 1, pre-implementation of POE (pre-POE) and phase 2, post-implementation of POE (post-POE) and, within phase 2, a comparison of POE and the combination of POE plus eMAR. Length of stay and cost were compared pre- and post-POE for a period of 10 to 12 months across all services in the respective hospitals. MEASUREMENTS: Comparisons were made pre- and post-POE for the time intervals between initiation and completion of pharmacy (pre-POE, n=46; post-POE, n=70), radiology (pre-POE, n=11; post-POE, n=54), and laboratory orders (without POE, n=683; with POE, n=1,142); timeliness of countersignature of verbal order (University Hospitals [OSUH]: pre-POE, n=605; post-POE, n=19,225; James Cancer Hospital (James): pre-POE, n=478; post-POE, n=10,771); volume of nursing transcription errors (POE with manual MAR, n=888; POE with eMAR, n=396); length of stay and total cost (OSUH: pre-POE, n=8,228; post-POE, n=8,154; James: (pre-POE, n=6,471; post-POE, n=6,045). RESULTS: Statistically significant reductions were seen following the implementation of POE for medication turn-around times (64 percent, from 5:28 hr to 1:51 hr; p<0.001), radiology procedure completion times (43 percent, from 7:37 hr to 4:21 hr; p<0.05), and laboratory result reporting times (25 percent, from 31:3 min to 23:4 min; p=0.001). In addition, POE combined with eMAR eliminated all physician and nursing transcription errors. There were 43 and 26 percent improvements in order countersignature by physicians in OSUH and James, respectively. Severity-adjusted length of stay decreased in OSUH (pre-POE, 3.91 days; post-POE, 3.71 days; p=0.002), but not significantly in James (pre-POE, 3.68 days; post-POE, 3.61 days; p=0.356). Although total cost per admission decreased significantly in selected services, it did not change significantly across either institution (OSUH: pre-POE, 5,697 dollars; post-POE, 5,661 dollars; p=0.687; James: pre-POE, 6,427 dollars; post-POE, 6,518 dollars; p=0.502). CONCLUSION: Physician order entry and eMAR provided the framework for improvements in patient safety and in the timeliness of care. The significant cultural and workflow changes that accompany the implementation of POE did not adversely affect acuity-adjusted length of stay or total cost. The reductions in transcription errors, medication turn-around times, and timely reporting of results supports the view that POE and eMAR provide a good return on investment.

Academic Medical Centers↗

Longitudinal records enable instant QI changes.

The system will save the hospital an estimated $10 million per year. Computerized physician order entry is integrated with other electronic records at the facility. A done-deal attitude by leadership gets staff on board in 18 months.

Cost Savings↗

Linking patient medication data with laboratory information system.

Dozens of new drugs are taken into clinical use each year. Even if the clinicians were able to learn the most important therapeutic effects of the drugs they prescribe, they would still be unable to remember all of their minor effects. After storing patient related medication data on computerized patient records it is possible to build decision support modules which automatically remind of possible drug influences on laboratory tests and cause alarms or alerts of drug interactions. Medication profiles coded using the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical-code (ATC-code) constitutes a valuable part of an Electronic Patient Record (EPR). In this paper, we describe the benefits of our system. By building links to commercially available drug and laboratory databases we can automatically inform clinicians on clinically relevant drug influences on laboratory test results.

Clinical Laboratory Information Systems↗

Computerization can create safety hazards: a bar-coding near miss.

Increasing numbers of hospitals are implementing bar-coding systems to prevent errors in patient identification. In the present case, a diabetic patient admitted to a teaching hospital was mistakenly given the bar-coded identification wristband of another patient who was admitted at the same time. When a laboratory result that documented the diabetic patient's severe hyperglycemia was entered into the other patient's electronic medical record, the latter patient seemed to have a very high glucose level and was almost given what could have been a fatal dose of insulin. This near miss shows that computer systems, although having the potential to improve safety, may create new kinds of errors if not accompanied by well-designed, well-implemented cross-check processes and a culture of safety. Moreover, computer systems may have the pernicious effect of weakening human vigilance, removing an important safety protection. Researchers should continue to study real-world implementation of computerized systems to understand their benefits and potential harms, and administrators and providers should seek ways to anticipate these harms and mitigate them.

Aged, 80 and over↗

Translation and interpretation: the hidden processes and problems revealed by computerized physician order entry systems.

Even the most basic computerized physician order entry systems can reduce medication error rates, improve the quality, and decrease the costs of medical care. Routine tasks such as decryption, triage, transcription, and transmission are eliminated or streamlined, reducing the source and likelihood of human errors. Translation of physician intent into actual orders requires more advanced computer systems with sophisticated algorithms built-in. Further, adding an interpretative function to understand and transmit orders that could have subtly different meanings will be challenging. Extensive analysis and the cooperative efforts of multidisciplinary teams will be required to add incremental value to computerized physician order entry systems.

Algorithms↗

Confidentiality: a survey in a research hospital.

Despite the many justifications for protecting patient confidentiality, we recognize that confidentiality cannot be absolute. Our world of automated information and easy access and storage poses many threats to confidentiality. This paper has described a survey conducted at the NIH Clinical Center to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of clinical physicians and nurses about confidentiality of patient information. The survey findings demonstrate the need for reminders and increased awareness about confidentiality in our setting. Most of the survey respondents had a good knowledge of what was expected of them, and they believed that confidentiality was important and maintaining it was their responsibility. Of interest was that in several simulated clinical situations, there was a discrepancy between what respondents indicated they should do and what they thought they would do. The biggest discrepancies appeared in situations that involved overhearing a patient conversation on the elevator, approaching an unfamiliar person who is reading a medical record in the nurses' station, and answering a patient's inquiry about the status of another patient. The findings support the speculation that this difference may be attributed to discomfort or decreased awareness, and not necessarily to lack of knowledge. Results indicate that policies and administrative expectations should be frequently communicated and enforced, and that educational programs that address issues of confidentiality should be provided. The results of this survey have been influential in guiding educational strategies and administrative activities at the clinical center. The clinical center initiated a confidentiality awareness campaign, displaying a new poster every three months in strategic locations and distributing other tangible reminders (such as pens, magnets, and buttons) containing the same confidentiality message.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Computerized medical records and preventive health care: success depends on many factors.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of a computerized medical record and other practice factors on the delivery of preventive health care. DESIGN: Prospective, controlled trial. SETTING: University general internal medicine teaching clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-five internal medicine residents and their 4 supervising attending physicians. INTERVENTION: The study group used a computerized ambulatory medical record system that included health care maintenance reminders. The control group used a conventional paper record with a health care maintenance flow sheet. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The computer reminders significantly increased health care maintenance recommendations made to patients for proctosigmoidoscopy, tetanus vaccination, influenza vaccination, and pneumococcal vaccination, but not for fecal occult blood testing, mammography, Pap smears, or serum thyroxine screening in the elderly. First-year residents were nearly twice as successful as third-year residents in overall health care maintenance. Success scores varied markedly depending on which attending physician was supervising the residents. We found a strong interaction among group assignment, supervising attending, and level of training such that the reminders doubled success scores among first-year residents supervised by two of the attending physicians but had little effect on other subgroups. The time of year and the format of the reminder also had important effects for some of the maneuvers. CONCLUSIONS: Although computerized medical records markedly improved the performance of prevention maneuvers by committed physicians, many physicians using computer systems failed to make use of the resource. The reasons for this were complex. Future work in this area should carefully control for personal behaviors and focus upon administrative changes that more effectively implement these potentially powerful tools.

Aged↗

Be a watchdog.

Review the advances in computerized prescriber order entry and automated storage and administration devices, which effectively reduce medication errors.

Clinical Pharmacy Information Systems↗

Computerized medication administration records decrease medication occurrences.

Studies have demonstrated that medication errors occur at a number of locations in the continuum between ordering of drug therapy and administration of the medication. Computer management of patient medication profiles offers the opportunity to enhance communication between pharmacists and nurses, and to decrease medication errors and delays in delivery of therapy. A number of authors have postulated that computerization of medication profiles would enhance medication delivery accuracy and timeliness, but no study has demonstrated this improvement. We report the results of a retrospective analysis undertaken to assess the improvements resulting from sharing a computerized medication record. We used a broader definition of medication occurrences that includes the more traditional definition, and averted errors, delays in delivery of medications and information, and disagreements between pharmacy and nursing medication profiles. We compared medication occurrences reported through an existing internal system between two periods; the first when separate pharmacy and nursing medication records were used, and the second period when a shared medication record was used by pharmacy and nursing. Average medication occurrences per admission decreased from 0.1084 to 0.0658 (p < 0.01). Medication occurrences per dose decreased from 0.0005 to 0.0003 (p < 0.01). The use of a shared medication record by pharmacy and nursing led to a statistically significant decrease in medication occurrences. Information shared between the two professions allowed timely resolution of discrepancies in medication orders, leading to better execution of drug therapy, decreased medication occurrences, and increased efficiency.

Clinical Pharmacy Information Systems↗

Computerized physician order entry in the critical care and general inpatient setting: a narrative review.

Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) is an increasingly used technologic tool for entering clinician orders, especially for medications and laboratory and diagnostic tests. Studies in hospitalized patients, including critically ill patients, have demonstrated that CPOE, especially with decision support, improves several outcomes. These improved outcomes include clinical measures such as reductions in serious medication errors and enhanced antimicrobial management of critically ill patients resulting in reduced length of stay. Additionally, several process outcomes have improved with CPOE such as increased compliance with evidence-based practices, reductions in unnecessary laboratory tests and cost savings in pharmacotherapeutics. Future studies are needed to demonstrate the benefits of more patient specific decision support interventions and the seamless integration of CPOE into a wireless, computerized medication administration system.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗

Improving acceptance of computerized prescribing alerts in ambulatory care.

Computerized drug prescribing alerts can improve patient safety, but are often overridden because of poor specificity and alert overload. Our objective was to improve clinician acceptance of drug alerts by designing a selective set of drug alerts for the ambulatory care setting and minimizing workflow disruptions by designating only critical to high-severity alerts to be interruptive to clinician workflow. The alerts were presented to clinicians using computerized prescribing within an electronic medical record in 31 Boston-area practices. There were 18,115 drug alerts generated during our six-month study period. Of these, 12,933 (71%) were noninterruptive and 5,182 (29%) interruptive. Of the 5,182 interruptive alerts, 67% were accepted. Reasons for overrides varied for each drug alert category and provided potentially useful information for future alert improvement. These data suggest that it is possible to design computerized prescribing decision support with high rates of alert recommendation acceptance by clinicians.

Adult↗