Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) eliminates illegible handwriting, reduces medical errors, and improves patient care. The administration, medical staff, nursing, and health information systems departments of a community teaching hospital cooperated to achieve organization-wide use of its CPOE system.

Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) is touted as a major improvement in patient safety, primarily as a result of the Institute of Medicine's 1999 report on medical errors and the subsequent formation of the "Leapfrog Group" of companies to preferentially direct their employees' health care to those institutions that install such systems (as part of directives that "Leapfrog" feels will im...

A study was undertaken to determine if an intensive continuing medical education program in rheumatology could improve patient care. Fifteen primary care practitioners, who fit the description of educationally influential physicians, completed a 2-week academic medical center-based preceptorship. Improvement in physician knowledge, from a mean score of 65.3% to a mean of 82.9%, was documented u...

Hospital transfers from nursing homes (NHs) are frequent, burdensome for residents, and often avoidable. The evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions to reduce avoidable transfers is limited, and most projects focus on nurses' knowledge and skills. In the present project, interventions focusing on nurses and physicians are integrated, elaborated, and implemented in 17 NHs. Results ...

This study estimates the effects of a patient's knowledge of antibiotics on preventing antibiotic abuse. We carried out an audit study in which simulated patients were paired and sent to the same physician for a checkup with the same chief complaint. Of the pair, the simulated patient from the treated group is told to say, " I learned from the internet that simple flu/cold patients should not t...