Impact of customized electronic duplicate order alerts on microbiology test ordering: Financial and environmental cost savings.

Objective: To estimate cost savings after implementation of customized electronic duplicate order alerts.

Design: Alerts were implemented for microbiology tests at the largest public hospital in Victoria, Australia. These alerts were designed to pop up at the point of test ordering to inform the clinician that the test had previously been ordered and to suggest appropriate reordering time frames and indications.