Electronic Rx Users Committing Fewer Errors

The number of medication errors appears to be falling at hospitals that use computerized provider order entry systems, a recent round of simulations shows.

That’s a good thing, considering that the first round of simulations two years ago showed CPOE systems at 214 hospitals missed, on average, half of the routine medication errors and a third of the potentially fatal orders, according to The Leapfrog Group, which conducted the survey using its Web-based simulation tool.

A similar test by 253 hospitals in the last nine months of 2011 showed routine medication errors had dropped to slightly more than a third, and potentially fatal errors had fallen to less than 2 percent.

"This is the kind of improvement that shows what persistent monitoring and adjustment of these systems can achieve, and the hospitals that participate in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey and took the test deserve real credit," said Leah Binder, CEO of The Leapfrog Group, on Friday at the National Press Club in Washington. "But hospitals and technology companies haven't finished the job. When CPOE is implemented the right way and hospitals and vendors follow up to monitor and improve it, the result is what every patient hopes for when their life is at stake: the perfect harmony of caregiver and technology working for them."

After the test two years ago found large numbers of errors, most of the hospitals achieved better scores after adjusting their CPOE systems and operating protocols, according to a news release from The Leapfrog Group.

The Leapfrog Annual Survey evaluates patient safety at the nation’s hospitals. The Washington-based Leapfrog Group is funded by large employers trying to improve patient safety and lower health care costs.