Contact:  Bonnie Zimmerman
Director, Marketing and Physician Services
Florida Hospital Waterman
1000 Waterman Way
Tavares, FL  32778
352) 253-3442

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A Prescription for Improved Patient Safety:
Florida Hospital Waterman Implements Computerized Physician Order Entry
and Eliminates Handwritten Physician Orders

Tavares, FL:  Florida Hospital Waterman has said farewell to the days of handwritten physician and provider orders for all inpatients in favor of a new, computerized system designed to drastically reduce medical errors and speed up patient care.  With the launch of its computerized physician order entry system, or CPOE, Florida Hospital Waterman is at the forefront of new medical technology designed to improve patient safety, and joins the ranks of hospitals having a fully-integrated electronic medical records system.

“The decision to implement CPOE is an example our commitment to delivering the best possible patient care.  The evidence clearly shows that CPOE improves the care process,” said Ken Mattison, Chief Executive Officer.

Thousands of Americans are harmed or die each year from adverse drug events, and over half of medication errors occur during the ordering process, many from illegible and incomplete orders.  Computerized physician order entry systems are widely regarded as the technical solution to medication ordering errors.  Implementing CPOE means physicians actually place orders directly into the electronic medical record, eliminating paper, reducing errors and decreasing the amount of time elapsed from physician order to patient care.  Published studies report that CPOE reduces medication errors and saves hundreds of billions in annual costs. 

“This is a gratifying day for everyone in the Waterman family because it’s another instance where we’re implementing new technology to make our hospital the best it can be,” said Mattison.  “I’m excited for our employees and the medical staff and proud of their efforts to bring this project to fruition.  But the real winners are the patients because CPOE will help us deliver safer, superior care.”

Hospital employees and members of the medical staff have been preparing for the transition to CPOE for several months.   “Through their commitment to make a fairly radical change in how they deliver patient orders, our physicians and providers have shown their commitment to doing what’s best for patients.  The bottom line is CPOE is better medicine. It offers tremendous gains in patient safety and quality,” said Mattison.