In Roads
August 15, 2014
Inside information for the employees of Mercy Medical Center
CPOE (Computerized Physician/Provider Order Entry) Mercy 411
CPOE was started in the ER and Family Birth Center last spring. Now we’ve launched with ICU on 8/12, and will finish off with the rest of the inpatient units on 8/26. This is the first step to moving to a fully electronic environment for documenting the care we provide for our patients.
Frequently Asked Questions From the 2014 Open Forums
Q: Dr. Tuhin Chaudhury (Center), Mercy Hospitalist, was the first physician to place an official electronic order on a patient, with Mary Cox, ICU RN. Dr. Nicolas Dela Pena (Left) eagerly placing his electronic orders.
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“You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you, you’ll win, no matter what the outcome.” -Robin Williams
Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) is now a fact of life for both hospitals and most physician’s offices. Hospitals across the country are required to implement this in their march toward a completely electronic medical record. CPOE is proven to drastically reduce patient errors in orders and increase patient safety significantly.
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CPOE increases regulatory compliance to continue Medicare eligibility
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Physicians can place their orders while rounding on their patients at the hospital or even remotely from their office or home.
MD’s are cooperative and doing well. Here are some quotes that Dr. Streeter provided as he visited the ICU on the first day.
Some anecdotes from physicians: “I love this. This means I will get fewer calls from staff clarifying what I have ordered, or asking to have my handwriting clarified” “I just got done building my favorites. This will save me a lot of time” “I didn’t need a four hour class. The nurses were great helping me figure out how to do this in 10 minutes!” Even though the latter physician stated he didn’t need a class, the CPOE Team strongly recommends that physicians contact them for either a class or to arrange for on-site training. To schedule a class, please contact the Medical Staff office to find out when classes will be offered. In addition, there are already a few video tutorials available to physicians and nurses to take advantage of, and new additions to the video library will be published as it grows.
How can we maintain our identity and values and not just become another corporation? With all of the emphasis on productivity, how do we provide humankindness for our patients and for each other?
A: Dignity Health’s ministry, mission, and values have not changed. They are alive and well in the culture of our organization and in the hearts of all of us who have joined Dignity Health in support of them. To ensure that we do not become “just another corporation,” we have committed to more careful and caring decision making in reaching future decisions that affect you, our employees. And we have committed to a new standard of openness and dialogue with you to ensure that the rationale for the decisions we do make is understood. All of our current efforts to build our brand and identity are intended to celebrate our ongoing commitment to humankindness by emphasizing patient experience and by providing our employees and leadership with the opportunities, support, and time to live our mission and values each day.