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Computerized decision support is one way to influence drug prescribing. In two new studies, researchers addressed this topic.
One study was conducted in an Indianapolis emergency department (ED) with a computerized order-entry system for all prescriptions. Researchers tracked prescribing patterns for older patients (age, ≥65) after 63 ED physicians were randomized to a decision-support prescribing intervention or to a control group. In the intervention group, orders for nine drugs that were deemed to be potentially inappropriate for older adults (e.g., promethazine, diazepam, propoxyphene, diphenhydramine) generated computerized alerts that suggested alternatives. During the 2-year study, the proportion of older ED patients who received pres…