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Viewpoint: Controversies Surrounding Use of Order Sets for Clinical Decision Support in Computerized Provider Order Entry

^a Department of Quality and Operations, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL
^b Department of Information Technology Services, UW Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
^c Departments of Internal Medicine, Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ
^d UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ

^_* Correspondence and reprints: Anne M Bobb, BS Pharm, 676 North St. Clair Street, Suite 700, Chicago, IL 60611; Tel: (312) 926-9176; Fax: (312) 926-8734. (Email: abobb{at}nmh.org).

Received for publication: 06/20/06; accepted for publication: 10/16/06.

Order sets provide straightforward clinical decision support within computerized provider order entry systems. They make "the right thing" easier to do because they are much faster than writing single orders; they deliver real-time, evidence-based prompts; they are easy to update; and they support coverage of multiple patient problems through linkages among order sets. This viewpoint paper discusses controversies surrounding use of order sets—advantages and pitfalls, decision-making criteria, and organizational considerations, including suggestions for vendors. Order sets have the potential to improve clinician efficiency, provide real-time guidance, facilitate compliance with Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services performance measure sets, and encourage overall acceptance of computerized provider order entry, but may not do so unless these controversies are addressed.

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				P. A. Gross and D. W. Bates A Pragmatic Approach to Implementing Best Practices for Clinical Decision Support Systems in Computerized Provider Order Entry Systems J. Am. Med. Inform. Assoc., January 1, 2007; 14(1): 25 - 28. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]