BUFFALO, N.Y., July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaleida Health announced today that it is implementing a new medication delivery system throughout its five hospitals that integrates safety software with intravenous (I.V.) infusion devices.
The $1.1 million investment in the Hospira MedNet(TM) system will enhance patient safety, reduce potential for error, and increase caregiver productivity.
“We are committed to continually enhancing the care that we provide to patients throughout Western New York,” said Margaret Paroski, chief medical officer of Kaleida Health. “I.V. therapy is an important and routine way to deliver medication in the hospital. Our new medication delivery system will help us ensure -- right at the patient bedside -- that these medicines are ordered, programmed and delivered most accurately.”
Kaleida Health is the first healthcare provider in Western New York to implement the Hospira MedNet system -- and is the first health system in the United States -- to purchase a version of the system that integrates a bar code enabled point-of-care (BPOC) system, which can completely automate the programming process.
Hospira MedNet helps to reduce medication errors and manage the medication administration process by defining medication dose limits and tracking I.V. drug delivery at the patient bedside. Prior to implementing the Hospira MedNet system, there were four different models of I.V.'s throughout Kaleida Health hospitals.
The system integrates the Hospira Plum A+(R) infusion system, a medication delivery device (or I.V. pump), with Hospira MedNet(TM), a scalable and customizable drug library software.
The system is designed to help nurses, physicians, pharmacists and other clinical staff to help ensure that the right patient receives the right drug in the right dose at the right time and rate of infusion.
With the new solution, Kaleida Health is able to create a customized library of up to 2,700 I.V. drug and fluid names prescribed throughout the hospital, and program specific dosing limits for 18 different clinical areas, such as intensive care, pediatrics and surgery.
Clinical management will also be able to set both “soft” and “hard” dose and rate-setting limits for multiple infusions delivered through the same pump. Soft limits allow clinicians to manually override dose limits (with confirmation) if they require delivery of a dose outside of the hospital’s best practice guidelines. Hard limits can be set as well so staff cannot manually override.
The system alerts clinicians if they have programmed a medication dose outside of the predetermined limits set by the hospital. The system also logs these alerts, which allows the system, each hospital, or even floor to track trends in compliance with dosing and clinical best practices.
All of Kaleida Health’s hospitals will tap into the core Hospira MedNet platform, which includes a localized drug library upload and infusion device data log download that can help improve patient safety and performance medication delivery.
In the future, they will also use a new wireless version of the system, which establishes real-time send-and-receive capability and allows the infusion device to connect with the Kaleida’s information system network. This two-way communication allows easier access to drug dosing information, more convenient monitoring of infusions and faster access to infusion data.
Furthermore, Kaleida Health hospitals will use a version of the system that is wireless and also integrates a state-of-the-art bar code enabled point-of-care (BPOC) system, which can completely automate the programming process.
Settings based on the physician’s order are transmitted electronically from the BPOC system to the infusion device. As a result, caregivers no longer have to manually enter drug, dose and infusion rate -- eliminating the opportunity for a programming error.
The medication delivery system was developed by Illinois-based Hospira, Inc., one of the largest hospital products manufacturers in the United States. The company develops, manufactures and markets products that help improve the productivity, safety and efficacy of patient care.
Kaleida Health is the largest health care provider in Western New York. More than one million patients are seen annually at Buffalo General, DeGraff Memorial Hospital, Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital, Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo and numerous community health care centers. The not-for-profit family of health care companies also includes the Deaconess Center and Waterfront long-term care facilities, plus the nation’s oldest -- and original -- Visiting Nursing Association.
Kaleida Health
CONTACT: Michael P. Hughes of Kaleida Health, +1-716-859-3795
Web site: http://www.kaleidahealth.org/
