Summa Health System in Akron, Ohio, will install a $24 million computerized physician order entry system in its three hospitals, Crain's Cleveland Business reports. The CPOE system should help improve safety and quality of care, cut drug errors and speed up patient care, said Cathy Koppelman, Summa's vice president of care services and a nurse executive.
The CPOE system, which will integrate orders with patient medical records, will allow physicians to access information online or via a wireless personal digital assistant, said Shirley Gabriel, Summa's administrative director of information technology and services. Nurses will also be able to access information on carted wireless computers.
The CPOE system will first be implemented in Akron City Hospital, where the nursing unit will begin testing the system in June 2005, Gabriel said. The system should be fully operational at Akron City and St. Thomas Hospital by the end of 2005. Gabriel said CPOE will be installed at Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital in five years. Summa expects to save about $14 million from the CPOE system over a five-year period.
The Cleveland Clinic has implemented CPOE at its suburban family health centers and is currently developing a similar system for its hospitals, said Eileen Sheil, a Clinic spokesperson. University Hospitals is considering a similar system, UH spokesperson Eileen Korey said (Mortland, Crain's Cleveland Business, 5/10).