The Chronic Disease Score, an aggregate measure of comorbid conditions, which has been validated for use in studies on methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CDS-MRSA), was calculated using in-patient pharmacy order records [19].
This step in the dispensing process is referred to as pharmacy order entry.
Keywords for the searches included "alerts, warning, decision support, pharmacist, pharmacy, expert system, pharmacy information systems, PMR systems and pharmacy order entry".
This systematic review shows that the safety features of ePMR systems are effective in alerting users about potential clinical hazards and errors during pharmacy order entry.
Linking patient medication records with other clinical data when possible expands the scope of checks for clinically hazardous situations at the point of pharmacy order entry [ 20, 34].
To date, there is no synthesis of evidence about the effectiveness of these safety features and alerts at the point of pharmacy order entry.
This systematic review provides evidence that alerts are useful for picking up medication errors and potential clinical hazards at the point of pharmacy order entry.
Data about the impact of safety features on pharmacists' decision-making behaviour and medication error prevention at the point of pharmacy order entry is scant and often disparate.
Studies that used comparative designs to evaluate the effectiveness of ePMR systems' safety features and alerts at the point of pharmacy order entry were included.
The interventions included alerts, warnings, or prompts about safety of medications, appearing on ePMR systems during pharmacy order entry or at the point of dispensing in the pharmacy.
Studies of patient medication record or pharmacy order entry systems used in pharmacies were included while studies about other clinical information systems and clinicians other than pharmacists were excluded.
