Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems can prevent medication ordering and dispensing errors. This pre-post study compared medication safety outcomes for paper-based prescribing versus CPOE-based prescribing among pediatric patients at one German hospital. The researchers found that CPOE implementation resulted in fewer potentially harmful medication errors.

Exploring the literature on efforts to reduce medication errors in hospitalized children, this systematic review examined five interventions, including introduction of computerized provider order entry systems, clinical pharmacist participation in the frontline care team, and implementation of barcode medication administration systems. Although the interventions showed some success, none of the studies found a significant reduction in patient harm.

An electronic clinical decision support system for prescribing in the emergency department used tiered alerts with higher and lower urgency information in order to avoid alert fatigue.