Adapting User Interface to Expedite Physician Order Entry: A Frontline to Ensure Patient Safety

Preventable medical errors are a major problem in healthcare. Maintenance of accurate problem lists and drug lists in the electronic medical record is critical to the practice of medicine and patient safety. We built a simulator of a clinical decision support system that automates the process of maintaining an electronic problem list by processing drug order requests from a simulated computerized physician order entry system. Preliminary results revealed that the productivity of the system increased when the user interface was improved. This study highlights the importance of an enhanced user interface as a frontline in expediting physician data entry, streamlining better system workflow, and maintaining an electronic problem list effectively to reduce preventable medical errors and promote patient safety.