PLoS medicine
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Comparative Study
The effect of automated alerts on provider ordering behavior in an outpatient setting.
Computerized order entry systems have the potential to prevent medication errors and decrease adverse drug events with the use of clinical-decision support systems presenting alerts to providers. Despite the large volume of medications prescribed in the outpatient setting, few studies have assessed the impact of automated alerts on medication errors related to drug-laboratory interactions in an outpatient primary-care setting. ⋯ Providers will adhere to alerts and will use this information to improve patient care. Specifically, in response to drug-laboratory interaction alerts, providers will significantly increase the ordering of appropriate laboratory tests. There may be a concomitant change in adverse drug events that would require a larger study to confirm. Implementation of rules technology to prevent medication errors could be an effective tool for reducing medication errors in an outpatient setting.
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Comment Comparative Study
Computerized physician order entry systems: the coming of age for outpatient medicine.
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Editorial Comment
A new era of hope for the world's most neglected diseases.
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A common feature of research investigating the placebo effect is deception of research participants about the nature of the research. Miller and colleagues examine the ethical issues surrounding such deception.