Grants Awarded to Fund Study - Company Business and Marketing - Brief Article

Health Management Technology, July, 2001

The California Health Care Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded undisclosed grant sums to The Leapfrog Group and First Consulting Group, Inc., Long Beach, CA, to develop criteria for studying the effectiveness of hospitals' computer-based physician order entry systems. The Leapfrog Group, Washington, D.C., includes public and private healthcare purchasers and has made medical error reduction a criterion in its purchasing decisions.

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices will assist First Consulting in developing specific criteria for testing. According to the institute, use of order entry systems can reduce serious medication errors by at least 55 percent. www.leapfroggroup.org