Computerized provider entry has a positive effect on the quality and safety of the process of care. Anderson and Abrahamson (2017) state that “information technology can reduce errors,” but “hospitals have been slow to invest in these technologies” (p. 16). Despite the existence of unintended consequences and insignificant changes in mortality rates, this system provides more than just a meaningful way to work with data. Such assistance is indeed valuable to the healthcare system, as the complexity of treatment grows exponentially with the ever-expanding medical knowledge base.
CPOE provides more than just a simplified way to conduct information between patients and the health care system. For example, a country-wide database of depersonalized clinical data could help with the study of various conditions and diseases, as well as defining further improvements to the system. Findings by Sewell (2018) “identified “patterns” of unintended consequences as those related to content and those pertaining to the way information was presented on the computer screen” (p. 10). Nowadays, it is possible to analyze massive amounts of data and simulate different outcomes based on changing initial parameters. Therefore, CPOE can be upgraded in accordance with identified problematic situations.
Moreover, the massive amount of data on patients can serve as a training ground for students of medical educational facilities who can directly study past cases inside the system. It will give trainees an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the system by taking an in-depth look at EHR’s inner workings. Younger medical students have shown to be able to input data faster and more accurately (Crawford et al., 2019). The authors also state that the “level of training and experience with a system affected documentation time” (Crawford et al., 2019).
References
Anderson, J. G., & Abrahamson, K. (2017). Your health care may kill you: Medical errors. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 234, 13–17.
Crawford, S., Kushner, I., Wells, R., & Monks, S. (2019). Electronic health record documentation times among emergency medicine trainees. Perspectives in Health Information Management, 16.
Sewell, J. (2018). Informatics and Nursing (6th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.