A new approach to the implementation of direct care-provider order entry.

Successful implementation of direct computer-based care-provider order entry traditionally relies on one of two different approaches development from scratch or installation of a commercial product. The former requires extensive resources; the latter, by its proprietary nature, limits extension of the system beyond capabilities supplied by the vendor. This paper describes an intermediate approach using the association of a locally-developed and controlled set of distributed microcomputer based applications and a commercial, mainframe-based order entry application used as an order transaction processing system. This combination provides both an intuitive user interface and a platform for implementing clinical decision-support tools.