High Override Rate for Opioid Drug-allergy Interaction Alerts: Current Trends and Recommendations for Future

This study examined trends in drug-allergy interaction (DAI) alert overrides for opioid medications - the most commonly triggered alerts in the computerized provider order entry (CPOE). We conducted an observational analysis of the DAI opioid alerts triggered over the last decade (2004–2013, n=342,338) in two large academic hospitals in Boston (United States). We found an increasing rate of DAI alert overrides culminating in 89.7% in 2013. Allergic reactions included a high proportion (38.2%) of non-immune mediated opioid reactions (e.g. gastrointestinal upset). The DAI alert override rate was high for immune mediated (88.6%) and life threatening reactions (87.8%). Exact allergy-medication matches were overridden less frequently (about 70%) compared to non-exact matches within allergy groups (over 90%). About one-third of the alert override reasons pointed to irrelevant alerts (i.e. “Patient has tolerated the medication before”) and 44.9% were unknown. Those findings warrant further investigation into providers’ reasons for high override rate. User interfaces should evolve to enable less interruptive and more accurate alerts to decrease alert fatigue.