Development and implementation of a computerized system for collection, processing, and administration of cellular therapy products.

Great strides have been made in computerization of ordering processes for general medications and chemotherapy agents. However, systems for ordering, processing, and administration of cellular therapies continue to be largely paper-based, without the safety features of computerized order entry. To address this deficit, Partners Healthcare System Information Services (PHS-IS; Boston, MA) has worked with oncologists and staff in the cell processing laboratory at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston, MA) to develop and implement a novel, comprehensive computerized system for physician ordering and management of cellular products.

Creating an enterprise-wide allergy repository at Partners HealthCare System.

A significant fraction of medication errors and preventable adverse drug events are related to drug-allergy interactions (DAIs). Computerized prescribing can help prevent DAIs, but an accurate record of the patient's allergies is required. At Partners HealthCare System in Boston, the patient's allergy list is distributed across several applications including computer physician order entry (CPOE), the outpatient medical record, pharmacy applications, and nurse charting applications.