Impact of computerized order sets on practitioner performance.

Order sets have the potential to provide evidence at the point of care and improve healthcare practice. In this study we reviewed the literature to assess the effect of computerized order sets on practitioner performance. Our search in PubMed and Science direct identified 442 studies of which 16 met our inclusion criteria. In 15 studies order sets contributed to the improvement of at least one performance outcome. The effect of order sets was evaluated on 34 performance outcomes, of which 19 were improved and the rest remained unchanged. The results provide evidence that the use of order sets can improve health care practice.