A pragmatic approach to implementing best practices for clinical decision support systems in computerized provider order entry systems.

Incorporation of clinical decision support (CDS) capabilities is required to realize the greatest benefits from computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems. Discussions at a conference on CDS in CPOE held in San Francisco, California, June 21-22, 2005 produced several papers in this issue of JAMIA. The first paper reviews CDS for electronic prescribing within CPOE systems; (1) the second describes current controversies regarding creation, maintenance, and uses of CPOE order sets for CDS; (2) and the third presents issues related to certification as a potential means of validating CPOE systems for widespread use. (3) This manuscript summarizes all of the discussions at the meeting and provides a pragmatically oriented view of how to implement CPOE with CDS.