Potential safety gaps in order entry and automated drug alerts: a nationwide survey of VA physician self-reported practices with computerized order entry.
In contrast to most hospitals and clinics, the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system has had a fully electronic health record with computerized provider order entry for several years. In this survey, VA physicians generally had positive impressions of the system, with nearly 90% feeling the system improved drug safety and nearly half reporting that serious drug interaction warnings were "very useful." However, the accuracy of drug–drug interaction and allergy warnings within this system are partially dependent upon clinicians manually entering medications prescribed by non-VA providers. As more than one quarter of respondents admitted to not always entering this data, this study highlights the importance of medication reconciliation in establishing accurate medication lists in the ambulatory care setting.