Implementation and Benefits of Computerized Physician Order Entry and Evidence-Based Clinical Decision Support Systems

The practice of medicine tends to lag behind important advances in many ways, including the use of novel diagnostic and treatment modalities. In the field of pathology and laboratory medicine, test complexity and test menus continue to expand, necessitating that clinicians obtain domain expertise to make the appropriate testing decisions for patients. Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) and clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) are one modality through which evidence-based medicine and practice guidelines can be deployed to assist clinicians at the time orders are being placed with the goals of improving the quality of care, decreasing errors, and reducing costs. After a brief introduction to CDSSs, this chapter uses specific examples to illustrate how evidence-based pathology can be used to implement CDSSs and monitor their success through cost-benefit evaluation.