Ordering medications through a computerized provider order entry (CPOE) system decreases the likelihood of medication errors by 48%, according to a new paper in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. Projected nationwide, this means that CPOE averted about 17.4 million errors in 2008, the year of the study. However, the authors note, "It is unclear whether this translates into reduced harm for patients." The study included a meta-analysis of nine papers that compared the medical error rates in hospitals before and after their adoption of CPOE.
