Evaluation and Certification of Computerized Provider Order Entry Systems

Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) is an application that is used to electronically write physician orders either in the hospital or in the outpatient setting. With the increasing implementation of commercial CPOE systems in various settings of care has come evidence that some implementation approaches may not achieve previously published results or may actually cause new errors or even harm. This has led to new initiatives to evaluate CPOE systems, which have been undertaken by vendors and other groups that evaluate vendors. Large employers have also joined this focus by developing flight simulation tools to evaluate the capabilities of these CPOE systems once implemented, potentially linking the results of such programs to reimbursement through pay-for-performance programs. The increasing role of CPOE systems in health care has invited much more scrutiny about the effectiveness of these systems in actual practice, which has the potential to improve their ultimate performance.