Computerized physician order entry

Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) — sometimes referred to as computerized provider order entry — is an electronic system typically implemented in hospitals that allows a medical practitioner to directly enter testing and treatment orders for a patient, afterward electronically transmitting the orders to the correct department(s) for fulfillment. Orders may be entered from mobile devices or dedicated computers and may include requests for medications, laboratory tests, and patient care assessments. In many cases the CPOE is integrated into a network of other computer systems, including clinical decision support systems.

CPOE is reported to improve staff communication, decrease delays in order completion, reduce errors related to handwriting or transcription, allow order entry at the point of care as well as off-site, offer an error checking mechanism for duplicate or incorrect tests/doses, and simplify inventory and billing management.

History

Some people consider the first predecessor to CPOE to be a hospital information system (HIS) implemented in the early 1970s. The idea of implementing a computerized information-handling system in the hospital sphere was first conceived in 1965, when Lockheed Martin conducted an information gathering project on the feasibility of such a system. Lockheed built a prototype hospital information system called "MIS" or "Medical Information System," and El Camino Hospital agreed to pilot it incrementally. In 1971 Lockheed was forced to sell its HIS research division to Technicon Data Systems; however, El Camino ultimately decided to fully implement it in 1972. The system had features such as laboratory test scheduling, IV ordering, and pharmacy management.

Though the HIS would progress in sophistication into the 1990s, its primary focus wasn't necessarily on integrated information and order entry. The need for such a system became more apparent at the end of the century, with the major turning point being the 1999 Institute of Medicine publication of To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System. Noting that 44,000 to 98,000 people were dying each year in the hospital from adverse events, a public debate ensued on what methods and tools could be implemented to improve patient safety in the hospital. A follow-up report by the Institue in 2001 gave more specific advice, recommending the use of electronic medication ordering with computer- and internet-based information systems to support clinical decision making.