The authors — two physicians and a pharmacist at University of Chicago Medicine — wrote that getting a prescription filled automatically when a provider enters it into a patient’s EHR is convenient and efficient, but there is a flaw in the system.
They highlight a case involving a 69-year-old woman who was hospitalized after her pharmacy kept dispensing a medication her physician had discontinued.
Hospitals can adopt tools that send stop orders, but these are not widely used due to their costs and regulatory disincentives.
