Computerized physician order entry (CPOE)

Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) is a process in which a physician or other medical professional electronically enters and sends medication, laboratory, radiology, and procedural orders and treatment instructions using a computer application rather than a traditional paper chart. This process is also sometimes referred to as computerized provider order entry or computerized practitioner order entry. CPOE systems help reduce errors tied to poor handwriting and transcription mistakes and are often integrated with clinical decision support tools. However, they can also introduce challenges, such as errors from incorrect menu selections, alert fatigue, and system design limitations.

While many physicians were initially reluctant to embrace CPOE systems when they first started to appear in the latter half of the twentieth century, the practice is in use in most hospitals and medical centers across the United States. Despite some potential drawbacks, CPOE has emerged as a key component of modern healthcare systems. Its adoption was driven by patient safety benefits and regulatory mandates, such as those outlined in the US Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act.

Background

Physicians in virtually all fields of medical practice are tasked with creating plans of diagnosis and treatment for their patients. Such plans normally include specific orders meant to be carried out by other medical personnel. For a physician’s care plans to be carried out properly, orders must be clearly documented in the patient’s medical records. Traditionally, medical records were kept in the form of paper charts in which physicians and other medical professionals issued and carried out orders through handwritten notations. That began to change with the introduction of CPOE systems in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

Using CPOE, physicians enter patients’ medical orders into a computer instead of using paper charts and handwritten notes. In most cases, CPOE is used with a computer system that is integrated with electronic health records. This makes it possible for physicians to review and manipulate patient records and immediately send orders for prescriptions or procedures to the appropriate providers. Nurses, pharmacists, therapists, and other medical professionals can access these records and orders easily. In this way, patients safely receive the medical care they need in the quickest, most efficient fashion possible.

Early work on the development of CPOE began in the mid-1960s. One of the first operational CPOE systems was developed by Lockheed Martin (then known as Lockheed Missiles and Space Company) in 1971 and was installed in El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, California. Although it allowed physicians to order prescriptions electronically, the inaugural Lockheed Martin CPOE system did not provide any sort of clinical decision support. This type of support, which became commonplace in subsequent CPOE systems, provides physicians with any helpful clinical knowledge they may need to develop the best possible care plans for their patients. Additional CPOE systems were developed throughout the remainder of the twentieth century. Implementation of such systems was still quite limited even into the early twenty-first century, however. This was likely due to initial reluctance on the part of both physicians and hospitals to abandon their traditional, paper-based record-keeping systems in favor of embracing electronic systems.

Ultimately, a large majority of American hospitals and medical centers adopted CPOE systems as their merit was increasingly proven. Most modern CPOE systems are integrated with clinical decision support (CDS) tools that provide medical professionals with real-time alerts for potential medication interactions, allergy warnings, and dosage recommendations. Advanced CDS features can assist with personalized treatment recommendations based on patient history and genetic information. The HITECH Act significantly influenced the widespread adoption of CPOE in the US, which provided financial incentives for hospitals and healthcare providers to implement electronic health records and CPOE systems. The Meaningful Use program (now the Promoting Interoperability Program) further encouraged CPOE integration. By the 2020s, many hospitals and clinics transitioned to cloud-based CPOE systems with greater interoperability and real-time data access. Mobile-friendly CPOE platforms have also become increasingly common, enabling physicians to enter orders using secure smartphone and tablet applications. Some updated CPOE systems include artificial intelligence and machine learning features.

Overview

Prescribing and administering medication or other forms of treatment is a multistep process involving communication and cooperation between various medical professionals. This process begins with the physician, who is responsible for choosing the most effective medication for the patient’s condition, estimating the appropriate dosage, and determining how often it should be administered. The physician must also record and send all this information to a pharmacist or pharmacy technician. The pharmacist is then responsible for ensuring that the prescribed drug will not cause any adverse reactions with other medications the patient is taking or any allergies the patient may have. The pharmacist must also release the medication in question in the correct form and dosage. Finally, the medication must be promptly delivered and administered to the right patient. CPOEs are designed to make this process as simple, efficient, and precise as possible.

CPOEs are intended to mimic the workflow of paper-based medical record systems as closely as possible while offering other complementary features that would not otherwise be available in such an immediate and convenient way. On the most basic level, CPOEs allow physicians and others to enter critical patient data into a medical record electronically using simple text boxes and drop-down menus. Depending on the specifics of the system employed, CPOEs allow physicians to do this with a standard computer workstation, a laptop, or even a secure mobile device. Many CPOEs are also connected to clinical decision support systems that provide physicians with the information that supports treatment planning and prescribing decisions. In addition, CPOEs frequently allow physicians and other providers to make real-time patient identifications, review all relevant medication information, and check for potentially problematic drug-to-drug and drug-to-disease interactions. Moreover, CPOEs ensure that private patient information is securely stored and protected from unauthorized users. CPOEs can even provide improved documentation for billing purposes.

Although CPOEs represent a significant improvement over traditional methods of prescription ordering and medical record-keeping, they are not without flaws. While CPOEs are designed partly to eliminate mistakes caused by illegible handwriting, similar errors, like dropdown menu selection and incorrect auto-fill suggestions, can occur if information is not entered into the system correctly. Errors may also occur as inexperienced physicians and other medical professionals learn to use a CPOE system. Other problems can arise when people become too accustomed to using CPOEs. Most CPOEs notify users with alerts or messages when something goes wrong or, for example, when a conflict between different medications is detected. When users are frequently exposed to these alerts and notifications, they may begin to ignore them unconsciously and miss an important warning called alert fatigue. Occasionally, a CPOE system may fail to catch errors with the medications prescribed to a particular patient, leading to dangerous prescription combinations or dosages, resulting in serious health consequences. Scientists continue to improve and optimize user interface design and system usability to mitigate these risks.

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