Impact of Computerized Provider Order Entry on Pharmacist Productivity

PURPOSE: To examine the impact of computerized provider order entry (CPOE) implementation on average time spent on medication order entry and the number of order actions processed. METHODS: An observational time and motion study was conducted from March 1 to March 17, 2011. Two similar community hospital pharmacies were compared: one without CPOE implementation and the other with CPOE implementation. Pharmacists in the central pharmacy department of both hospitals were observed in blocks of 1 hour, with 24 hours of observation in each facility. Time spent by pharmacists on distributive, administrative, clinical, and miscellaneous activities associated with order entry were recorded using time and motion instrument documentation. Information on medication order actions and order entry/verifications was obtained using the pharmacy network system. RESULTS: The mean ± SD time spent by pharmacists per hour in the CPOE pharmacy was significantly less than the non-CPOE pharmacy for distributive activities (43.37 ± 7.75 vs 48.07 ± 8.61) and significantly greater than the non-CPOE pharmacy for administrative (8.58 ± 5.59 vs 5.72 ± 6.99) and clinical (7.38 ± 4.27 vs 4.22 ± 3.26) activities. The CPOE pharmacy was associated with a significantly higher number of order actions per hour (191.00 ± 82.52 vs 111.63 ± 25.66) and significantly less time spent (in minutes per hour) on order entry and order verification combined (28.30 ± 9.25 vs 36.56 ± 9.14) than the non-CPOE pharmacy. CONCLUSION: The implementation of CPOE facilitated pharmacists to allocate more time to clinical and administrative functions and increased the number of order actions processed per hour, thus enhancing workflow efficiency and productivity of the pharmacy department.