Point-of-care I.V. medication management solution launched by Cerner and
Hospira
4 November 2005
Kansas City, Mo. and Lake Forest, Ill., USA. Cerner Corp. and Hospira,
Inc. have announced a new medication management solution designed to help
prevent intravenous (I.V.) medication errors where they occur the most, at
the bedside.
It integrates the Hospira MedNet system with the Cerner CareGuard system.
Hospira MedNet is a customizable software system that allows hospitals to
define dose limits and track infusions to help prevent I.V. medication
errors. Cerner's CareGuard solution, the company's bar code point-of-care
(BPOC) system, connects bedside medical devices into the care process,
checking for the proper patient, proper medication dose and other factors,
allowing clinicians to make the best care choices possible.
Using wireless technology to connect Hospira's I.V. infusion devices with
Cerner's BPOC system, the solution can eliminate the need for caregivers to
manually enter medications, doses and infusion rates, thereby reducing
opportunities for clinical errors.
"Our partnership with Cerner has resulted in a state-of-the-art solution
for hospitals looking to leverage BPOC systems to enhance the delivery of
I.V. medications," said John Arnott, senior vice president, Global
Commercial Operations, Hospira. "It will further demonstrate the
interoperability of Hospira MedNet with other hospital technology solutions,
providing more options to enhance patient safety, clinical management and
caregiver effectiveness."
BPOC systems are designed to help prevent I.V. medication delivery errors
at the bedside by ensuring the "five rights" of medication administration —
right drug, right patient, right dose, right time and right route of
administration. By integrating Hospira MedNet with the CareGuard system, the
solution will help further reduce I.V. medication delivery errors and
improve clinical outcomes by incorporating five-rights verification into the
infusion device programming process.
Wireless communications modules integrated in Hospira infusion systems
provide communication with Cerner's CareGuard solution. Through this
integration, a clinician can now scan bar codes on his or her ID badge, the
patient ID band, the medication and the infusion pump using a handheld
device with a bar code reader. The system then incorporates five-rights
verification into the infusion device programming process by also matching
the pump with the patient. Next, Hospira MedNet software compares the
infusion order against the hospital's best practice guidelines — closing a
critical gap in safe I.V. medication delivery. Once the software confirms
that the pump programming matches the patient order information, the pump
may be auto-programmed to administer the medication appropriately. All
infusion activity is electronically documented, supporting hospitals'
electronic medical record initiatives and providing actionable feedback.
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