CPOE, otherwise known as Computerized Provider Order Entry, is a requirement in both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of meaningful use. CPOE can relate to either medications, laboratory orders, or radiology orders, depending on the version of meaningful use the provider is currently attesting for.

Medication Orders

Entering Medication Orders

Medication Orders refers simply to prescriptions, either electronic or printed on paper. That order must be entered by the physician into the patient's chart for documentation.

For steps on completing this, read our Writing a Prescription page.

Entering Lab Orders

Lab Orders are documented on the patient's chart level. To add a new lab order, from the patient's chart, click on the Orders drop-down menu, then click Lab Orders. This will open the Lab Orders window, where all previous lab orders for this patient will be visible.

To add a new lab order, click the green Add button. You will be asked to provide the following information:

Vendor — Who you are ordering the lab from/sending the lab to. Click the "…" to select a vendor. This is required.
Code — What lab you are ordering. Click the "…" to search the list of LOINC codes. This is required.
Date Ordered — The date you are ordering the lab. This is required.
Date Sent — The date the lab is sent to the vendor. This is required.
Date Received — The date the results are received.
Specimen Source — A free-text field used to document the source of the lab specimen.
Units — The units of the specimen.
Results — Enter the results here.
Normals — Additional field for results.
Abnormal — A true or false field. Are the results abnormal?

Once you have entered all information, click Save. The lab order will close and you will be back on the Lab Orders screen, where the new order will now be listed.

Click on the order and click the red Link button to link this lab order to the encounter where the lab was ordered. This is required for proper documentation for Meaningful Use.

Radiology Orders

Radiology orders would include items such as images or x-ray orders.

Entering a Radiology Order

Radiology orders, like lab orders, are documented at the patient level. To document a radiology order, click on the Orders drop-down menu on the patient's chart, then select radiology order. This will open the radiology orders window, where all previous radiology orders will be entered. To add a new radiology order, click the green Add button. The Patient Radiology Editor window will open, where you will enter the below information:

Vendor — Who you are ordering the radiology from/sending the radiology to. Click the "…" to select a vendor. This is required.
Code — What lab you are ordering. Click the "…" to search the list of LOINC codes. This is required.
Date Ordered — The date you are ordering the radiology. This is required.
Date Sent — The date the radiology is sent to the vendor. This is required.
Date Received — The date the results are received.
Results — Enter the results here.
Normals — Additional field for results.
Abnormal — A true or false field. Are the results abnormal?

Once you have entered all information, click Save. The radiology editor will close and you will be returned to the Radiology Orders window, where the new order will now be listed.

Click on the order and click the red Link button to link this radiology order to the encounter where the radiology was ordered. This is required for proper documentation for Meaningful Use.

As a Measure of Meaningful Use

CPOE is a single, three-part measure required for the 2015 criteria of Meaningful Use.

Objective #3

Computerized Provider Order Entry (Medications)
(An EP, through a combination of meeting the thresholds and exclusions (or both), must satisfy all three measures for this objective.)
Stage 2
Measure 1: More than 60 percent of medication orders created by the EP during the EHR reporting period are recorded using computerized provider order entry.
Exclusion: Any EP who writes fewer than 100 medication orders during the EHR reporting period.

Video

Computerized Provider Order Entry (Laboratory Orders)
Stage 2
Measure 2: More than 30 percent of laboratory orders created by the EP during the EHR reporting period are recorded using computerized provider order entry.
Exclusion: Any EP who writes fewer than 100 laboratory orders during the EHR reporting period.

Video

Computerized Provider Order Entry
Stage 2
Measure 3: More than 30 percent of radiology orders created by the EP during the EHR reporting period are recorded using computerized provider order entry.
Exclusion: Any EP who writes fewer than 100 radiology orders during the EHR reporting period.

Video

Stage 1
Measure: More than 30 percent of all unique patients with at least one medication in their medication list seen by the EP during the EHR reporting period have at least one medication order entered using CPOE; or more than 30 percent of medication orders created by the EP during the EHR reporting period are recorded using computerized provider order entry.
Exclusion: Providers scheduled to be in Stage 1 in 2015 may claim an exclusion for
measure 2 (laboratory orders) and measure 3 (radiology orders) of the Stage 2 CPOE objective for an EHR reporting period in 2015.

Stage 2 Revision Webinar

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