The American journal of managed care
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Evaluation of laboratory monitoring alerts within a computerized physician order entry system for medication orders.
Errors involving medication use are common. Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) can improve prescribing practices. Few studies have examined the effect of CPOE in combination with decision support tools on prescribing practices in the outpatient setting. Less is known about prescribers' adherence to laboratory monitoring recommendations. ⋯ As CPOE becomes more prevalent, additional research is needed to determine effective decision support tools. These findings then should be communicated to the developers and users of computerized medical record systems.