Hospital Pharmacist
2005;12:294
September 2005

News summary

Computerised prescribing reduces drug errors on ICU

Introducing computerised physician order entry (CPOE) in an intensive care unit (ICU) is associated with a reduction in the proportion of medication errors and an improvement in overall patient outcome score, according to a study published in Critical Care. Researchers, led by Rob Shulman, ICU pharmacist, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, reported a significant reduction in medication errors when using the CPOE system, compared with handwritten prescriptions (4.8 per cent vs 6.7 per cent; P<0.04).

The proportion of errors also reduced with time after the introduction of CPOE. There were, however, two errors with CPOE that led to patient harm requiring an increase in length of stay in hospital. The researchers noted differences in the type of error between the handwritten prescription and CPOE systems.

Further information is available from the paper (Critical Care 2005;9:R516–R521).