electronic records

Handwritten and manually transcribed physician orders leave a lot of opportunity for errors. A computerized physician order entry, in which the physician must enter all orders by computer, eliminates handwriting and transcription errors. It also makes it possible to automatically check doses, drug-drug interactions, allergies and significant patient characteristics, like allergies and impaired renal function.

A computerized order entry system presents its own set of problems. There is a significant expense that smaller facilities may not be able to afford. Cost prohibitions or lack of space may limit the number of PCs to the point that practitioners have long wait times for computer access. It seems slow and inconvenient at times. In addition, physicians who are less computer savvy may be resistant to change