Leapfrog displeased by low CPOE adoption rates

In the past, we've noted here that Leapfrog Group is taking CPOE very seriously. Now, the group has set out to find out whether anyone was listening. Apparently, not enough facilities have gotten the message.

A new survey by Leapfrog has concluded that only 7 percent of hospitals meet Leapfrog medication error prevention standards, which rely on CPOE. That's a sore spot for the quality group, given that its latest standards require that top hospitals have a fully-functioning CPOE system in place.

Along the way, the group slapped down a good number of facilities on other grounds. For example, it concluded 24 percent met Leapfrog's efficiency standards for heart bypass surgery, 21 percent for heart angioplasty, and a mere 14 percent for heart attack and pneumonia. In another example of problem processes, it turns out that only 26 percent of reporting hospitals are meeting Leapfrog standards for treating heart attacks.

While the analysis was complex, the bottom line emerging from Leapfrog's research appears to be that many hospitals still face safety issues that could be affecting both their care and their bottom line--and that they expect hospitals to use CPOE to help clean house. Let's see if that actually happens. While it does seem to be an effective error-prevention tool, CPOE is no joke to implement, nor is it cheap.

To learn more about the study:
- read this Healthcare Finance News piece

Related Articles:
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Leapfrog places big emphasis on CPOE
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