A Successful Order Set Project Equals Improved Resource Utilization and Clinician Workflow

Order sets can lead to reduced investigations when appropriate and facilitate the use of less expensive therapies.

Order sets have reduced the ordering of urea, a frequently unnecessary lab test, by over 40%.

Order sets facilitate the timely and appropriate transition from expensive intravenous therapies to more cost effective oral therapies.

The time for physicians to complete orders and the health care team to process orders is dramatically reduced compared to free text orders.

Order sets facilitate the ordering of the routine parts of patient care enabling the health care team to focus on the unique needs of each patient.

Order sets are the ideal clinical decision support tool

• Widespread adoption
• Easy to implement: no significant process redesign required
• Easy to use: no significant staff education required
• Can be implemented across all areas of the organization
• Provide a sustained benefit

Cost effective
Compared to other quality initiatives orders sets are very inexpensive and frequently provide more dramatic improvements in quality in a shorter time period.

These attributes make order sets a desirable component of any quality improvement strategy.

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