Ebook: Making Computerized Provider Order Entry Work

Despite all the jokes about the poor quality of physician handwriting, physician adoption of computerized provider order entry (CPOE) in hospitals still lags behind other industries’ use of technology. As of the end of 2010, less than 22% of hospitals had deployed CPOE. Yet experts claim that this technology reduces over 80% of medication errors and could prevent an estimated 522,000 serious medication errors annually in the US. Even though the federal government has offered $20 billion dollars in incentives to hospitals and health systems through the 2009 stimulus (the ARRA HITECH section of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009), many organizations are struggling to implement advanced clinical information systems including CPOE. In addition, industry experts estimate that the healthcare industry is lacking as many as 40,000 persons with expertise in clinical informatics necessary to make it all happen by the 2016 deadline for these incentives. While the scientific literature contains numerous studies and stories about CPOE, no one has written a comprehensive, practical guide like Making CPOE Work. While early adopters of CPOE were mainly academic hospitals, community hospitals are now proceeding with CPOE projects and need a comprehensive guide. Making CPOE Work is a book that will provide a concise guide to help both new and experienced health informatics teams successfully plan and implement CPOE. The book, in a narrative style, draws on the author's decade-long experiences of implementing CPOE at a variety of academic, pediatric and community hospitals across the United States.

Making Computerized Provider Order Entry Work is neither a scientific reference guide into medical informatics nor a book on theory or a summary of research studies in the field, but rather it is a practical guide to visioning and executing successful automation of physician workflow in the hospital environment. This adaptation of workflow is the work of a team, with leadership, clear vision, dedication, commitment, external drivers, experience, and the tireless work of those before us in this industry, who have paved the way with both successes and failure.

Throughout the book, the author shares hard lessons-learned and guides the reader through the early warning signs that will help avoid the pitfalls. As systems progress, and the regulatory environments change, there will be new challenges and opportunities that will confront those setting up automated physician workflows. However, this book highlights and discusses all of the principles involved such as vision, leadership, project management and change management, which will always need to be incorporated to ensure project success. As such this book will be an important reference for anyone involved in the setting up or use of such systems from the physicians and medical professionals themselves through the medical informaticist to health system executives and other decision makers.