Improving Cardiac Rehabilitation Referral Patterns Using Computerized Physician Order Entry Systems

Patel et al evaluate cardiac rehabilitation referral patterns using computerized physician order entry systems. At a large academic hospital, poor cardiac rehabilitation referral and enrollment patterns markedly improved after implementing a computerized physician order entry-based cardiac rehabilitation referral system. The simple and automated nature of this referral system allowed for it to be rapidly implemented without obstructing the flow of patient care. As part of a trend towards computerized medical records, similar automated referral strategies could easily be adopted by other hospitals, which could lead to substantial improvements in patient outcomes via greater utilization of cardiac rehabilitation programs.