A computerized physician order entry system is an electronic medication prescribing system that finds and intercepts the most common errors when medications are ordered. Instead of being written down by the doctor, these orders are entered into a computer.

The computer can integrate the order with patient information including laboratory and prescription data. The orders are checked for potential drug interactions, allergies, proper dosages, up-to-date information about newly developed drugs and confusion between drugs that have like-sounding names.

These types of computer systems improve communications between doctors and pharmacists and help create efficiencies that reduce healthcare costs.

To meet Leapfrog's standard for computerized physician order entry, hospitals must:

• Make sure that doctors enter at least 75% of medication orders on a computer system that includes software to prevent drug prescription errors
• Demonstrate that their computerized order entry system can alert doctors of at least 50% of the most common serious prescribing errors, and
  
  
• Require that doctors electronically document why they are overriding a computer-flagged warning before doing so
  

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has partially met these standards and continues to make progress toward complete compliance.