Evaluating an oncology systemic therapy computerized physician order entry system using international guidelines

Chemotherapy is prone to medication error resulting from complexities in ordering and administration. Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) has been established as an important tool to minimize such errors and hence improve patient safety. As a leading Canadian advisory body in oncology, Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) has been a champion in developing and implementing its own cancer systemic therapy CPOE, the Oncology Patient Information System (OPIS). This article reviews and consolidates principles for oncology CPOE systems as found in the literature and in guidelines created by three international oncology organizations (American Society of Clinical Oncology, Clinical Oncological Society of Australia, and CCO). It then evaluates OPIS by these standards and provides a working example of what a cancer CPOE system should look like. This document can therefore be used as a framework to help develop and evaluate cancer CPOE platforms in different national settings. As end users, oncologists are considered key stakeholders in developing such systems and thus should be well informed about CPOE principles to help make decisions on the appropriate implementation of these platforms in their local practice settings. In addition, oncologists are also important champions for the successful uptake of oncology CPOE platforms and would benefit from a better understanding of whether proposed or existing local CPOE systems meet established standards.