Quantifying value for physician order-entry systems: a balance of cost and quality.

Healthcare CFOs commonly demand hard data to prove that an investment in computerized physician order entry (CPOE) will be worthwhile. However, a balanced analysis of cost and quality of the CPOE system has advantages over traditional return-on-investment appraisals. Montefiore Medical Center (MMC), Bronx, New York, assessed the value of its CPOE system by quantifying cost and quality measures rather than relying solely on dollar returns. MMC collected process times for medication ordering before and after the CPOE system was introduced and demonstrated that the use of CPOE increased medication ordering efficiency by 92 percent. MMC calculated additional process times for ward clerks, nurses, and pharmacists before and after CPOE implementation and determined the time saved per employee. From that number, the dollars potentially saved per employee and total potential dollar value of time savings per year were calculated.