Treatment orders are communication tools. Licensed prescribers write orders to instruct other licensed professionals, such as nurses and medical assistants, how to deliver care to patients.

To better meet this criteria, the CCTO/ITA Task Force, a group that meets monthly to improve clinical operations workflows at Stanford Cancer Institute, updated treatment orders templates.

The main changes to the 2017 old order set are:

• Order Header and Footer sized to meet SHC Medical Records requirements for scanning
• Prescriber initials and dates are required for review of safety labs and pre-medications
• Separate orders for different treatment days
• Tubing instructions section added
• Generic reaction management for oral and intravenous drugs

The template and supporting documents (e.g.: examples and guider’s user) are now available at CCTO website Resources: Coordinator Corner > CRFs/Templates/Tools > Infusion Treatment Area (ITA) to be used, immediately, to all new patients.

To facilitate the adoption of the new order set, there is a three-month grace period to transition old orders to the new format.