At a recent clinical staff meeting, a physician complained that the new requirement that clinicians enter all orders manually into the electronic record (CPOE) is slowing us down and causing errors. The IT and administrative staff were not the least sympathetic. Their message: it’s really not a big deal, it only takes an extra minute or two, and smart people like you should be able to master a simple skill like this. On the way home, I came up with a way to help them better understand: CPOE for management.
I would like to see them forced to use their own version of CPOE: Computer Process for Organizing Errands. Here’s how it would work.Every errand they do requires a computerized planning and documentation process. Whether they were going grocery shopping, out to fill up the tank on their car, buying shoes for their child, or a present for their spouse, here is what they would have to do:
- Go to their computer and start the Errand Management Resource (EMR).
- Go to the Schedule Errands tab and open it.
- Enter each errand (picked from a list of 20,000 possible errands) and link it to a household or family category. Examples might include:
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