Computerized Physician Order Entry, GCSE Coursework Example

Healthcare informatics continues to expand and evolve on a continuous basis in order to improve efficiency and quality of patient care. Nurses are active participants in this process and continue to explore new options to ensure that they provide a valuable contribution to the patient care environment through the use of information technologies such as medication scanners (Dubin, 2010). Although medication errors continue to occur, these tools minimize the number of errors that are identified and support improved efficiency in administering medications to patients (Dubin, 2010).

Data quality within the healthcare industry must be reliable and accurate at all times in order to promote greater quality and support for patient care quality, and this is also relevant to medication administration activities. Therefore, computerized prescriber order entry (CPOE) systems support the demand for efficiency in medication ordering and administration in order to accommodate patient needs and to be effective in advancing objectives that will have a significant impact on care and treatment (Leap Frog Group, 2007; Siemens, 2010). This practice also demonstrates the need to improve quality and minimize medication errors across all patient care units (Hebda & Czar, 2013).

The concept of text paging is newer and is not well-known on a widespread basis, yet it is an emerging technology that supports instant and secure communication through texting, and is particularly useful in non-emergency situations where physicians must communicate with each other and with nurses regarding patient care issues. This technology has its advantages and disadvantages, yet it should be explored as an opportunity to improve communication among physicians and nurses within the healthcare environment in order to achieve the desired outcomes in an efficient manner and to improve the quality of patient care that is administered on a continuous basis for patients.

References

Computerized Physician Order Entry. (2007). Retrieved from,  http://www.leapfroggroup.org/for_hospitals/leapfrog_safety_practices/cp

Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE). (2010). Siemens. Retrieved from, http://usa.healthcare.siemens.com/infrastructure-it/healthcare-it/acute-care/medication-management/cpoe-medication-mgt/features/

Dubin, Cindy. (2010). Bar-Code Scanning At Four Health Care Facilities in the U.S. P T. Apr 2010; 35(4): 212-214, 233. Retrieved from, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2873717/

Hebda, T. & Czar, P. (2013). Handbook of informatics for nurses and healthcare professionals (5thEd.) Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.