Impact of computerized physician order entry on clinical practice in a newborn intensive care unit.

Objective: To study the impact of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) on selected neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) practices.

Design: Retrospective review.

Setting: Nursing units in an academic health system where CPOE has been implemented in adult services since 2000 and in the NICU since 2002.

Immediate benefits realized following implementation of physician order entry at an academic medical center.

Objective: To evaluate the benefits of computerized physician order entry (POE) and electronic medication administration record (eMAR) on the delivery of health care.

Design: Inpatient nursing units in an academic health system were the setting for the study. The study comprised before-and-after comparisons between phase 1, pre-implementation of POE (pre-POE) and phase 2, post-implementation of POE (post-POE) and, within phase 2, a comparison of POE and the combination of POE plus eMAR.

Key attributes of a successful physician order entry system implementation in a multi-hospital environment.

The benefits of computerized physician order entry have been widely recognized, although few institutions have successfully installed these systems. Obstacles to successful implementation are organizational as well as technical. In the spring of 2000, following a 4-year period of planning and customization, a 9-month pilot project, and a 14-month hiatus for year 2000, the Ohio State University Health System extensively implemented physician order entry across inpatient units.