Errors, medication, management ordering medications

It was reported by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) in 2000 that fewer than 5 percent of physicians were writing prescriptions electronically. In a 2000 white paper entitled, A Call to Action Eliminate Handwritten Prescriptions within 3 Years, ISMP recommended the use of electronic prescribing by clinician order entry to reduce medication errors (ISMP, 2000). CPOE can help to reduce errors in the delivery and transcribing of orders to the pharmacy where the orders are filled. Order management can be used to control inventory and alert pharmacy staff (and even the patient) of the status of a prescription. For example, some national chain pharmacies have the capability of alerting the patient by phone or e-mail if a prescription is ready or if other action needs to be taken before the prescription can be picked up. The system should also be able to report results, such as the number of prescriptions filled, the revenue generated over a specified time, and medication error reports. 

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