Meridian Health, New Jersey
Meridian Health, New Jersey, realized significant improvements in the quality of care delivered to residents of Monmouth and Ocean counties in New Jersey just months after embedding evidence-based best practice guidelines into their computer-based physician order entry system.
Situation
Much has been written about computer-based physician order entry (CPOE) and its potential for improving safety, yet only a small percent of the physicians in the United States are using it today. Meridian Health, the leading healthcare facility in Monmouth and Ocean Counties, New Jersey, has found a way to use CPOE as an interactive, concurrent, clinical decision support tool that its physicians enthusiastically embrace as an aid in improving patient safety.
Solution
Improving patient safety has long been a primary goal of Meridian Health. To that end, Meridian has been a forerunner in the use of CPOE and fully has implemented it with clinical decision support tools. The idea of placing orders online was initially met with mixed reviews by clinicians, yet Meridian has steadfastly and continually enhanced its CPOE system to provide valuable clinical alerts and reminders at the point of patient care. Today, it is an interactive, concurrent decision support tool that has helped Meridian meet its best practice compliance goals in all areas where it has been applied.
Better Health & Lower Costs
National leader in innovations in patient safety, as recognized by winning the 2005 John Eisenberg award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality at a Local or Organizational Level. Meridian Health, New Jersey, realized significant improvements in the quality of care delivered to residents of Monmouth and Ocean counties in New Jersey just months after embedding evidence-based best practice guidelines into their computer-based physician order entry system. Physicians have embraced the use of the interactive practice guidelines for online ordering, resulting in the implementation of a dozen best practices into the system.
