Computerized Physician Order Entry Systems: Is the Pharmacist's Role Justified?

In their recent commendable article, “A Cross-site Qualitative Study of Physician Order Entry,” Ash et al.1 concluded that collaboration and trust among organizational members and active engagement of clinicians are important factors in successfully implementing computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems. The article contributed to our understanding of the reasons behind physicians' resistance and the factors that might promote successful CPOE implementations. Although the article mentioned “pharmacists as team members,” their role was not described explicitly. We would like to recommend active incorporation of clinical pharmacists in the health care team involved in using CPOE.Well-designed CPOE systems can improve the safety of patient care and reduce health care costs2–4 caused by medication errors. Yet, as the authors of this study mention, many physicians have been reluctant to use CPOE.1,6–9 From the physicians' perspective, CPOE generally takes more time than writing prescriptions on paper.6,9 Hence, most physicians still prefer the traditional method. It is important to note, however, that the CPOE process is a two-way communication between the physician and …