How Effective Is a CPOE System?

A Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) system has been instrumental in providing physicians with a valuable alternative to using prescription pads or paper forms. Not only is it a more efficient alternative, its major benefit is the safety quotient that it offers. In this system, orders are incorporated with patient information e.g. radiology/lab results and there are automatic checks in place to catch hold of errors and problems which if allowed to be committed have the potential to cause a fatal outcome. The system has also been highly effective in reducing errors associated illegibility as well as inappropriate drug use & dosing. Overall, by using a (CPOE) there is a considerable reduction in medical errors and adverse drug events (ADEs). The need to use a system was triggered by a report by Institute of Medicine (IOM).

The report which was published indicated that the various healthcare improvement agendas ought to be channelized towards patient safety and error reduction. It brought to the forefront the fact that medical errors were not uncommon & that the largest number of errors traced involved medication. These involved prescribing medications to which either the patient was allergic and prescribing inappropriate dosage. Also it was seen that Adverse Drug Events contributed in a major way to an increase in patient stay in hospitals. Revelation of all this information brought to the forefront critical issues which needed immediate attention & possible solutions. The focus clearly needed to shift towards enhanced error reporting, designation of qualified individuals to lead the safety improvement efforts, & risk identification and reduction programs.

Use of technology & application, in the form of a CPOE system, got introduced as a solution to tackle the issues which were proving to be matters of high concern. It required practitioners to enter orders into a system & get them transmitted electronically to appropriate departments. To help reduce incidences of errors, alerts and decision support system, clinical guidelines were also integrated into the system. Since then on, various studies have been done to figure out how effective the adoption and implementation of the system has been. Some of the benefits which have been commonly reported are increase in efficiency, reduction in overall costs, reduced length of medical stay & a decrease of medical errors i.e. reduction in inappropriate medication selection, inappropriate dosing and inappropriate frequency of medication administration . Some of the other common order-entry errors like overlooking of drug allergies, drug-drug interactions, drug-laboratory value interactions & drug–disease interaction were also easily avoided.

Although the overall evaluation of Computerized Physician Order Entry system has been positive in terms of the tangible benefits that it offers, the surprising factor has been the pace of its adoption which has falling short of expectations. There are a few reasons cited for lack of voluntary adoption. The major reason seems to be the willingness among physicians and hospital authorities to bring about the required change in their work flows to accommodate the change. Also it requires a certain amount of investment; both for the implementation of the system as well as for training resources to use the system. However the push provided by CMS meaningful use program is getting providers to adopt the system at a faster rate now.

Mindfire Solutions has been successful in implementing Healthcare projects for the last 10+ years . With expertise in having executed multiple Health IT projects across areas like EMR/EHR, PMS, Ambulatory Care System, LIMs, Medical Billing, CPOE, Clinical Management Systems as well in mHealth, we are preferred technology partner for many of clients in need of developing standard as well as customized healthcare solutions meeting all the regulatory guidelines.

If you would like to Customize EHR system or you need to get Clinical software development done, please reach out to us at sales[@]mindfiresolutions.com or call 1-248-686-1424. We will be glad to help you.

Why Healthcare Can No Longer Thrive Without IT?

The opinion of people in the health IT industry on the usage of that technology is tilted more towards acceptance and towards rapid adoption is good. There are still a lot of people who question that. The reelection of President Obama to the White House will obviously mean that that the efforts which were hitherto directed towards this area will continue such the Meaningful Use incentive program. People holding critical positions are voicing their opinion on what they feel could the turn of events moving forward. HITECH, HIPAA and other health reform regulations will now be given the push by the government in order to meet the target planned for their widespread use. The providers are also expected to refocus their priorities and take actions before the statutory deadlines and. Since the republicans have retained the control over the House and the Democrats of the Senates, efforts have to be put in by both parties to find common ground since the budget allocated to this field will form an integral part of the national budget. At the provider level the audits are bound to be more stringent and with higher frequency before payments are issued.

The widespread use of IT in Healthcare has dramatically impacted the practice of medicine and physicians who have collectively acknowledged the benefits that they have been able to draw from it. At the same time they have not shied away from expressing the issues that they have to confront– the primary one being that of getting the blame for the errors not necessarily in their control. For example, in the event of the patients not taking active interest in their own health, under the meaningful use, the primary physician is held responsible. They are even penalized under the healthcare payment models.

Besides getting to learn how to use new technologies like Customize EMR system, decision support systems and the likes, the capability and skills of the physicians are put under scrutiny. Through the vast amount of data which gets generated, every decision and step taken by physicians who use the system is captured and so is open to analysis at any point in time. This is bound to put pressure on them as they go about their day-to- day work. They are also likely to be very cautious and predictive in the manner in which they function so as to avoid running into trouble. This can prove to be disastrous in those cases which require physicians to try out methods in patient care which are out of the ordinary. The provision to involve patients in the treatment by allowing them to look into the clinical notes also means more skepticism from the fraternity. Their concern is that it will only result in more consumption of time in clearing confusions and in having to explain every detail to their patients as thy are not expected to be well versed in the medical lingo.

Mindfire solutions has been developing IT solutions in Healthcare domain for the past 10+ years. We have a team of certified experts who are aware of the protocols which need to be followed to develop systems with Meaningful Use. To know more about our expertise in Healthcare software development and to Develop Electronic Medical Records, please contact us at sales at mindfiresolutions dot com or call 1-248-686-1424.