Hospira Announces Collaborations to Interface Hospital Technologies and Improve Patient Safety
Share:
LAKE FOREST, Ill., Feb. 22: Hospira, Inc. (NYSE:HSP), a leading global hospital products company, today announced collaborations with several industry leaders to ensure the compatibility of Hospira's medication management products with other hospital information technologies. By improving the flow of essential patient and clinical data throughout the hospital, this work can help prevent intravenous (I.V.) medication delivery errors and lead to better overall quality of care. Customers can learn more about Hospira's medication management solutions at the 2007 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) meeting, Feb. 25 through March 1 in New Orleans (booth #2258).
"Hospira strives to deliver forward-looking solutions that help hospitals enhance patient care, and through strategic alliances with other leading technology providers, we can meet customers' needs, today and in the future," said Symeria Hudson, vice president, Marketed Products, Global Devices. "As we interface our products with other leading industry platforms, we can better help hospitals advance healthcare quality."
Hospira is working with several leading hospital information system (HIS) providers to establish communications between their medication management solutions and its own. These companies include:
o Cerner Corp. and Cerner Bridge Medical;
o McKesson Corporation; and
o Siemens Medical Solutions.
Interfacing Hospira products with other hospital technologies can help improve the control and distribution of information and resources, as well as compliance to clinical standards -- to help decrease the possibility of medication administration errors. For example, when a medication is administered through an infusion pump with Hospira MedNet(R) safety software, the infusion data could be effortlessly transmitted using wireless connectivity to the patient record via the HIS or bar code point-of-care system.
Technologies Working Together to Drive Patient Safety
Hospitals are increasingly implementing information technology tools -- such as bar codes, electronic medical records, medication management devices and safety software -- to help clinicians improve patient care, operational efficiency and error risk reduction. However, according to the Institute of Medicine's recent "Preventing Medication Errors" report, "Most providers currently use these technologies as independent, stand-alone systems rather than as integrated components of comprehensive clinical information systems." The report warns that the lack of common standards and integration "can have particularly devastating effects on patient safety."(1)
Hospira and the vendors with which it is collaborating can help address these concerns by advancing open systems, industry standards for communications and security, and interoperability. The company is also driving to optimize and synchronize workflows, interface clinical and information systems, and track medications administered at the patient bedside by working with additional specialized industry leaders, including:
o InnerWireless, Inc. (system designed to guarantee wireless coverage
inside hospitals);
o Omnicell, Inc. (bedside medication administration system); and
o Orion Health (clinical workflow and integration technology).
About Hospira MedNet
Hospira MedNet software is a scaleable and easily upgradeable patient safety platform that enables hospitals to create a customizable, hospital- specific drug library for I.V. infusions. It offers "soft" and "hard" dose and rate-setting limits for infusions that alert clinicians if they have programmed a medication dose outside the hospital's predetermined limits. Hospira MedNet is available with the Symbiq(TM) infusion system and as an enhancement to the Plum A+(R) general infusion system, the Plum A+(R)3 triple- channel device and the LifeCare PCA(R) patient-controlled analgesia system.
More than 400,000 Hospira infusion pumps are installed in hospitals worldwide today.
About Hospira
Hospira, Inc. is a global specialty pharmaceutical and medication delivery company dedicated to Advancing Wellness(TM) by developing, manufacturing and marketing products that help improve the productivity, safety and efficacy of patient care. In February 2007, Hospira acquired Mayne Pharma Limited to become the world leader in specialty generic injectable pharmaceuticals. With 70 years of service to the hospital industry, Hospira's portfolio includes one of the industry's broadest lines of generic acute-care and oncology injectables, which help address the high cost of proprietary pharmaceuticals; and integrated solutions for medication management and infusion therapy. Headquartered north of Chicago in Lake Forest, Ill., Hospira has approximately 15,000 employees and 18 manufacturing facilities worldwide. Hospira's news releases and other information can be found at www.hospira.com.
(1) Aspden, Philip, et al. Preventing Medication Errors. Washington, DC:
The National Academies Press, 2007. 287.
Source: Hospira, Inc.
CONTACT: Media, Jason Hodges, +1-224-212-2863, or Financial Community, Lynn McHugh, +1-224-212-2363, both of Hospira, Inc.
Web site: www.hospira.com/
