Deploying information technology and continuous control monitoring systems in hospitals to prevent medication errors.

The serious repercussions of healthcare errors on patient safety have led hospitals to deploy information technology and continuous control monitoring systems to prevent them. Hospitals are moving away from traditional paper-based systems and focusing on designing new systems that prevent errors, using information technologies to catalyse the process re-engineering. This paper presents a case study that analyses the effect of computerised physician order entry and automated unit-based medication storage and distribution systems on the drug ordering and delivery process. It is concluded that information technology and continuous control monitoring systems have led to significant process re-engineering in the sequential stages of the drug ordering and delivery system. The new systems have also provided the opportunity to improve information available. This is an exploratory case study and the conclusions drawn from it offer possible routes for future research in this field.