Health Journalism Glossary

Best practice alert (BPA)

  • Health IT

A programmed notification in an electronic health record (EHR) that occurs at a specific point in patient charting or documentation. BPAs remind clinicians of best practices they should follow in clinical decision-making. Some BPAs have a “hard stop,” meaning that the clinician must adhere to the alert before closing the patient’s EHR or moving onto the next task.

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