Impact of computerized provider order entry on pharmacist productivity

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Pharmacy Practice
• Workflow Optimization

Background:

• Hospital pharmacies face challenges in managing medication orders efficiently.
• The implementation of Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) systems aims to streamline healthcare processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of CPOE on pharmacists' time allocation for medication order entry.
• To assess changes in the number of medication order actions processed per hour following CPOE implementation.

Main Methods:

• An observational time and motion study compared two similar community hospital pharmacies: one with CPOE and one without.
• Pharmacists' activities (distributive, administrative, clinical) were recorded over 24 hours in each facility.
• Medication order actions and order entry/verification data were extracted from pharmacy network systems.

Main Results:

• CPOE pharmacies showed significantly less time on distributive activities but more time on administrative and clinical tasks per hour.
• The number of order actions processed per hour was significantly higher in the CPOE pharmacy (191.00 vs 111.63).
• Total time spent on order entry and verification combined was significantly reduced in the CPOE pharmacy (28.30 vs 36.56 minutes per hour).

Conclusions:

• CPOE implementation enhances pharmacy workflow efficiency and productivity.
• Pharmacists can reallocate time towards clinical and administrative responsibilities with CPOE.
• Increased order actions processed per hour indicate improved operational capacity.