Minder fouten door elektronisch voorschrijven in ziekenhuizen: Nieuwe systemen brengen nieuwe risico's

Medication errors often occur in hospitals and can cause adverse drug events in patients. Computerised physician order entry systems (CPOE) are seen as a solution for many medication errors, but theoretically errors could also increase. Several kinds of systems are discussed in this article, as well as methods to measure the effect of the systems, focusing on the amount of medication errors before and after the implementation of a CPOE. The few studies that have been performed on this subject show a reduction of medication errors and adverse drug events after the implementation of a CPOE. The extent to which errors are reduced depends on the possibilities of the system and the initial situation of the hospital. With CPOE new errors are introduced. By measuring the amount of medication errors in the drug distribution process continuously, these studies show that the flaws of the system are made clear and can be addressed. By checking, updating and revising the system, it is possible to reduce the amount of medication errors and to make optimal use of the opportunities of the system. In order to optimise the implementation of CPOE in the clinic, several recommendations are made.