Evaluations of the prescription order entry system for outpatient clinics by physicians in the 80 university hospitals in Japan

We investigated the evaluations of the prescription order entry system by t he physicians who are the direct users of this system. Questionnaires were sent to 400 staff physicians of 80 medical school affiliated hospitals, out of which 76% responded. Among the respondents, 48 per cent are malting use of the computerized outpatient prescription order entry system, and 52 per cent are not. The result shows 78% of the physicians are in favor of the p rescription order entry system; the most dissatisfied opinion of the physic ians toward the system was that the input took too much rime thus reduced t he communication with the patient. Physicians who are using the system seem ed to favor the system more than the physicians who are not using it.