A "safe" technology? Factors contributing to an increase in duplicate medication order errors after CPOE implementation

An article "Factors contributing to an increase in duplicate medication order errors after CPOE implementation" by Wetterneck et al. appeared recently in JAMIA (JAMIA doi:10.1136/amiajnl-2011-000255).

It is not available free, but the questions I want to raise are valid just from the abstract available free at the above link:

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the incidence of duplicate medication orders before and after computerized provider order entry (CPOE) with clinical decision support (CDS) implementation and identify contributing factors.

Design CPOE with duplicate medication order alerts was implemented in a 400-bed Northeastern US community tertiary care teaching hospital. In a pre-implementation post-implementation design, trained nurses used chart review, computer-generated reports of medication orders, provider alerts, and staff reports to identify medication errors in two intensive care units (ICUs).

Measurement Medication error data were adjudicated by a physician and a human factors engineer for error stage and type. A qualitative analysis of duplicate medication ordering errors was performed to identify contributing factors.

Results Data were collected for 4147 patient-days pre-implementation and 4013 patient-days post-implementation. Duplicate medication ordering errors increased after CPOE implementation (pre: 48 errors, 2.6% total; post: 167 errors, 8.1% total; p<0.0001). Most post-implementation duplicate orders were either for the identical order or the same medication. Contributing factors included: (1) provider ordering practices and computer availability, for example, two orders placed within minutes by different providers on rounds; (2) communication and hand-offs, for example, duplicate orders around shift change; (3) CDS and medication database design, for example confusing alert content, high false-positive alert rate, and CDS algorithms missing true duplicates; (4) CPOE data display, for example, difficulty reviewing existing orders; and (5) local CDS design, for example, medications in order sets defaulted as ordered.

Conclusions Duplicate medication order errors increased with CPOE and CDS implementation. Many work system factors, including the CPOE, CDS, and medication database design, contributed to their occurrence.

Duplicate orders can result in over-medication, failure to discontinue, or other medication errors if not caught. They by definition increase risk.

The questions are simple:

Considering that this was a "Northeastern US community tertiary care teaching hospital", not a small hospital in a remote town somewhere lacking in HIT experience, and that "duplicate medication order errors increased with CPOE and CDS implementation", is CPOE:

• A safe technology, in a practical sense in the complex clinical setting (with complexities that are 'Hiding in Plain Sight'), in 2011?
• A technology ready for sanction-enforced national rollout?

I leave it to the reader to decide.

-- SS