In automated physician order entry systems, physicians enter orders directly on the computer. Compared with manual systems, advantages are that orders are legible, transcription is eliminated, the writer can be identified, and orders can rapidly be routed to their destinations. But most importantly, physician order entry allows order checking and provision of decision support to the orderer in real time. Disadvantages are that systems developed to date have been slower than pen and paper and they represent a major process change so that implementation is time-consuming and requires patience both on the part of the users and the developers.