Computer technology in the workplace is becoming increasingly common. US medicine was initially slow in adoption of information technology, but acceptance has accelerated significantly over the past few years. There are four areas in which rapid advances have been made: computerised order entry; electronic medical records (EMRs); e-mail communication; and hand-held devices. These four technologies are destined to revolutionise the way medicine is practiced in the US.

Reducing medical errors has become a national priority in the US. Specifically adverse drug events are an important source of injuries in hospitalised patients. In response to the need to improve patient safety, computer physician order entry (CPOE) systems have become increasingly more common. In general, CPOE systems force physicians to write all orders online. These systems have the capacity to verify that written orders are correct, that is, based on a patient profile, they can automatically check the dose and contraindications of a specific drug. They have been shown to dramatically reduce serious medication errors. Unlike EMRs (see below), I believe that most hospitals in the US will have CPOEs within five …