National trends in safety performance of electronic health record systems in children's hospitals.
Although computerized provider order entry (CPOE) for medications has reduced medication errors, it has also had unintended consequences. This simulation study used the validated Leapfrog evaluation tool to assess the safety of CPOE for medications for pediatric patients across multiple electronic health record (EHR) platforms. The investigators had clinicians familiar with the EHR enter prespecified unsafe orders into simulated patient records and note whether alerts or messages ensued. As demonstrated in prior work, many potentially unsafe medication orders did not lead to alerts. The authors report that repeated use of the tool led to improvement over time, which suggests the need for regular safety testing for EHRs after implementation.