Effectiveness of provider price display in computerized physician order entry (CPOE) on healthcare quality: a systematic review.

Objective: To study the association between Electronic Health Record (EHR)/Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) provider price display, and domains of healthcare quality (efficiency, effective care, patient centered care, patient safety, equitable care, and timeliness of care).

Methods: Randomized and non-randomized studies assessing the relationship between healthcare quality domains and EHR/CPOE provider price display published between 1/1/1980 to 2/1/2018 were included. MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Embase were searched. Assessment of internal validity of the included studies was performed with a modified Downs-Black checklist.

Results: Screening of 1118 abstracts was performed resulting in selection of 41 manuscripts for full length review. A total of 13 studies were included in the final analysis. Thirteen studies reported on efficiency domain, one on effectiveness and one on patient safety. Studies assessing relationship between provider price display and patient centered, equitable and timely care domains were not retrieved. Quality of the studies varied widely (Range 6-12 out of a maximum possible score of 13). Provider price display in electronic health record environment did not consistently influence domains of healthcare quality such as efficiency, effectiveness and patient safety.

Conclusions: Published evidence suggests that price display tools aimed at ordering providers in EHR/CPOE do not influence the efficiency domain of healthcare quality. Scant published evidence suggests that they do not influence the effectiveness and patient safety domains of healthcare quality. Future studies are needed to assess the relationship between provider price display and unexplored domains of healthcare quality (patient centered, equitable, and timely care).

Registration: PROSPERO registration: CRD42018082227.