Introduction: There is limited literature on the effect of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) on mortality. The objective of our study was to determine if there was a change in mortality among critically ill patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) after the implementation of a CPOE system.
Conclusion: The implementation of CPOE was not associated with a change in mortality of critically ill ED patients, but was associated with a decrease in proportion of patients discharged to home after hospitalization.
Patient care in the emergency department (ED) is often complicated by the inability to obtain an accurate prior history even when the patient is able to communicate with the ED staff. Personal health records (PHR) can mitigate the impact of such information gaps. This study assesses ED patients’ willingness to adopt a PHR and the treating physicians’ willingness to use that information.
An electronic emergency department information system (EDIS) can monitor the progress of a patient visit, facilitate computerized physician order entry, display test results and generate an electronic medical record. Ideally, use of an EDIS will increase overall emergency department (ED) efficiency. However, in academic settings where new interns rotate through the ED monthly, the “learning curve” experienced by the new EDIS user may slow down patient care. In this study, we measured the impact of the “intern learning curve” on patient length of stay (LOS).
The purpose of this study is to characterize the added value of the primary ICD-9 diagnosis assigned at the time of ED disposition compared to the chief complaint for patients with influenza-like illness (ILI).
