The effectiveness of interruptive prescribing alerts in ambulatory CPOE to change prescriber behaviour and improve safety.

Oliver Cerqueira; Mohsain Gill; Bishr Swar; Katherine Ann Prentice; Shannon Gwin; Brent W Beasley

Review

The effectiveness of interruptive prescribing alerts in ambulatory CPOE to change prescriber behaviour and improve safety.

May 5, 2021

Cerqueira O, Gill M, Swar B, et al. BMJ Qual Saf. 2021;30(12):1038-1046.

View more articles from the same authors.

Computerized prescriber order entry (CPOE) systems embedded in electronic health systems alert clinicians to potential safety concerns such as drug-drug interactions or medication dosage errors. Results of this review indicate that alerts influenced prescriber behavior in most of the included studies. However, it is unclear whether these behavioral changes improve patient safety outcomes. Recommendations for future research include randomized controlled trials to determine which alerts maximize patient safety, while minimizing prescribers’ alert fatigue.

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The effectiveness of interruptive prescribing alerts in ambulatory CPOE to change prescriber behaviour and improve safety.

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