Table 5.
Table 5. Pharmacists’ Views on Statement about Computerized Drug–Drug Interaction Alerts
| View | Mean ∗ (SD) | % Often‡ |
|---|---|---|
| I am satisfied with the accuracy of the DDI alerting system. | 3.3 (0.9) | 45 |
| How frequently do you have problems with the computerized patient record system (CPRS)? | 2.0 (0.7) | 4 |
| How frequently do you feel like hitting the computer terminal? | 1.6 (0.8) | 2 |
| When presented with a potentially lethal DDI, I contact the prescriber even though it has been overridden. | 4.2 (1.1) | 79 |
| I feel comfortable contacting prescribers about CPOE medication orders that involve an overridden DDI alert. | 4.1 (0.9) | 82 |
| I find DDI alerts a useful tool in verifying the appropriateness of CPOE medication orders. | 3.7 (0.9) | 67 |
| mean† (SD) | % agree§ | |
| DDI alerts should be accompanied by management alternatives. | 4.0 (0.9) | 82 |
| DDI alerts should be accompanied by more detailed information about the interaction. | 4.4 (0.9) | 89 |
| DDI alerts should only appear once during the order entry process. | 3.1 (1.1) | 44 |
| DDI alerts are presented in a useful format. | 3.1 (1.0) | 40 |
| I feel confident in the computer’s ability to provide me with meaningful DDI alerts. | 3.2 (0.9) | 42 |
| A DDI alert should not be generated for individual patients who have already had an alert overridden. | 2.7 (1.0) | 24 |
| It should be more difficult for prescribers to override alerts for potentially lethal interactions. | 4.2 (1.0) | 85 |
| Prescribers should have the ability to tailor which DDIs generate alerts when they are entering orders. | 2.3 (1.0) | 12 |
| Prescribers should not be required to enter a reason for overriding a DDI alert. | 1.6 (0.8) | 2 |
| DDIs considered only significant (vs. critical) should not generate an alert. | 2.5 (0.9) | 18 |
| I have confidence in my ability to speak to prescribers about DDIs when they are identified. | 4.1 (0.8) | 89 |
| I feel confident in my ability to determine which DDI alerts are clinically meaningful. | 3.9 (0.8) | 79 |
| The large volume of DDI alerts makes it difficult to differentiate clinically important from unimportant interactions. | 3.4 (1.0) | 48 |
| Clinically important DDI alerts are easily differentiated from other warning messages and drug utilization review (DUR) alerts. | 3.0 (0.9) | 35 |
| The level of attention that I give a DDI alert depends on the individual prescriber of the CPOE medication order. | 2.6 (1.0) | 18 |
| The level of attention that I give a DDI alert depends on the type of practitioner (e.g., MD, nurse practitioner, physician assistant). | 2.5 (1.0) | 18 |
| Prescribers are generally not receptive when I contact them about DDIs. | 2.2 (0.8) | 7 |
| Pharmacists should not be required to enter a reason for overriding critical DDI alerts. | 2.0 (0.9) | 6 |
| Computer generated DDI alerts are essentially meaningless, a waste of time. | 2.0 (0.8) | 2 |
∗ 1 = Almost never; 2 = Some of the time; 3 = About half of the time; 4 = Most of the time; 5 = Almost always.
† 1 = Strongly disagree; 2 = Disagree; 3 = Neither disagree nor agree; 4 = Agree; 5 = Strongly agree.
‡ Includes those who responded most of the time and almost always.
§ Includes those who responded agree or strongly agree.
SD = standard deviation.