CMIO: Some Hospitals ‘Have No Plan’ For CPOE Implementation

And despite the apparent benefits of CPOE systems—a 2009 study by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and the New England Healthcare Institute concluded that CPOE systems could save hospitals up to $2.7 million a year, compared to a cost of $2.1 million for implementation and $435,000 for annual maintenance—Doyle also agrees with the notion that there is simply not enough physician buy-in when it comes to it.

“In the physician community, there has not been significant buy-in,” he says. “It will take retirement of a number of physicians, and we do know we will lose several in the next few years to death, disability, or retirement. The average age of physicians in Georgia is 55, so we’re top heavy. The more we get physicians coming into [the industry] with computers in their hands, the better.”

At MCCG, Doyle said his strategy was to be upfront and honest with the physicians, explaining to them that nobody will work faster than they did pre-CPOE right away. Some people get back to the same level of productivity after a year, and for others, it might take 18 months, he says. “I dispelled these myths and rumors that said ‘if you’re going to make me use this, it has to be designed so I work faster.’ That part hasn’t come yet and won’t come for years down the road. You’re not going to be faster; rather, you will probably be slower. I had to tell them that. I even went to administration and told them to expect to see a decrease in revenue because we were going to be slower and it was going to take time. I think they understood it when I put it in those terms, and that’s a good thing, because ultimately, CPOE is going to have to be physician-led and physician-driven in a lot of places.”