Is Electronic Prescribing in Hospitals Preventing Serious Medication Errors?

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Jun 25, 2010, 11:28 ET

A New Report from The Leapfrog Group

Conference Call for Media June 30th

Potential Jeopardy to Patients When Technology is Not Properly Tested and Monitored

WASHINGTON, June 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Health information technology could inadvertently result in harm to patients without proper monitoring, according to a new report by The Leapfrog Group, an employer-backed health advocacy organization.

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Beginning in 2008, Leapfrog asked hospitals to not only report on their rate of CPOE adoption, but to also test the efficacy of their CPOE systems. Testing is accomplished through Leapfrog's CPOE Evaluation Tool. The simulation tool provides each hospital with 10 patient scenarios and 50 medication orders. Hospitals are asked to run the patients and corresponding orders through their systems, then report results to Leapfrog. The CPOE Evaluation Tool tests a CPOE system's ability to detect common medication errors and errors that could lead to fatalities.

On June 30, 2010 The Leapfrog Group will make public a new report outlining the results of 214 hospitals that used Leapfrog's CPOE Evaluation Tool between June 2008 and January 2010. This report has immediate implications for policy makers, hospitals, technology vendors, and, most importantly, patients.

Members of the media are invited to a conference call on June 30, 2010 at 9 a.m. Eastern Time hosted by:

Leah Binder, CEO, The Leapfrog Group
Dr. Barbara Rudolph, Senior Science Director, The Leapfrog Group
David Knowlton, President & CEO of New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute and Chair, Leapfrog Board of Directors
Keith Reissaus, Vice President of Community & Workplace Initiatives, Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana and Vice Chair, Leapfrog Board of Directors

SOURCE The Leapfrog Group