Duplicated orders due to inadequate systems
Category:
Medication
In an attempt to decrease the amount of duplicated medications orders, the use of CPOE (Computerized Physician Order Entry) ahs been implemented and used by many clinics worldwide. However the result of this system has been exactly the opposite and has led to an increase of duplicate medication orders.
This was reported in an article by researchers from the Uiversity of Wisconsin-Madison and Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania, "Duplicate medication orders increased significantly after the implementation of an EHR with CPOE. This occurred despite CDS designed to identify duplicate orders"
Studies were done on two independent ICU (intensive Care Units) facilitating 400 beds at a rural hospital. The ICUs were a standard adult ICU and the second a cardiac ICU, both of these facilities had similar ordering processes. The researchers had found and reported that the number of same drug orders placed had gone from 0.31% to 1.87% and that the rate of orders had also slightly increased.
It was found that if two orders were given within fifteen minutes or if duplicate medications orders were made during a change of shift, the system did not pickup the duplication.
It has become obvious that the National Healthcare Society needs to put more attention on systems that are running medication data bases to insure the medical safety of patients.
