AHRQ Patient Safety Network ► Physicians failed to write flawless prescriptions when computerized physician order entry system crashed.

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Physicians failed to write flawless prescriptions when computerized physician order entry system crashed.

Hsu CC, Chou CL, Chen TJ, Ho CC, Lee CY, Chou YC. Clin Ther. 2015 Apr 1; [Epub ahead of print].

Although computerized provider order entry has eliminated many medication errors, it has introduced errors as well. In this case study, system failures resulted in physicians reverting to handwritten medication orders in a hospital, which led to many errors—most commonly omissions. The authors suggest implementation of standalone electronic prescription software so that back-up computerized provider order entry is available in case of electronic health record failure.

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