KENNEDY TOWNSHIP, Pa., March 15 /PRNewswire/ -- In a continuing effort to maximize patient safety, Pittsburgh’s Ohio Valley General Hospital (Ohio Valley) has become the first hospital in the United States to implement an automated system that uses barcoding and “smart” infusion system technology to help to ensure that patients receive the right intravenous (IV) medication at the appropriate dose and rate. The system also gives nurses, physicians and hospital pharmacists real-time access to vital patient information from anywhere in the hospital where the system is operational.
“This initiative is an integral part of our Quality Assurance and Risk Management Programs,” says William F. Provenzano, FACHE, Ohio Valley’s president. “We take pride in our accomplishments on this front, and we are always looking for ways to strengthen our leadership position in the realm of patient safety.”
Recently, Avatar International, Inc., an Orlando-based health care research and consulting firm, reported that for the past two years Ohio Valley has been the nation’s best community hospital in the category of “Consistently Exceeding Patient Expectations” based on the results of patient surveys in Avatar’s 170-plus hospitals database.
Putting a Philosophy Into Practice
Ohio Valley’s IV Safety System, which replaces traditional paper records, was developed jointly by McKesson Automation Inc., a Pittsburgh-based provider of pharmacy and health care supply automation solutions, and by San Diego- based ALARIS Medical Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cardinal Health, Inc., which develops and markets products for the safe delivery of IV medications.
“It is well known that the administration of IV medications poses the greatest risk for harm to patients,” says Peg Spisak, a registered nurse who serves as Ohio Valley’s director of quality and risk management. “Throughout our Hospital’s 100 years of existence, Ohio Valley has always been strongly committed to patient safety.
“We are addressing the issue of IV medication errors in a proactive and economically responsible manner. Given the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) recent ruling that barcodes must appear on most prescription drugs and on certain over-the-counter medications, without ordering health care providers to implement barcoding systems, we are truly ‘ahead of the curve.’”
According to a study by University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, implementing barcode scanning technology at the patient’s bedside reduced medication errors by 87 percent.
“Those of us in health care are all too familiar with ‘death by decimal’ stories,” adds Spisak. “In those instances, an infusion pump rate was entered as 90 versus 9.0, or a weight-based drug calculation resulted in a person receiving 60 times the intended dose. Clearly, our system goes a long way toward protecting the safety of our patients.”
How Ohio Valley’s IV Safety System Works The IV Safety System operates in a three-step process: 1. Using a hand-held (HH) device with a built-in scanner, the nurse conducts a three-way scan of barcodes: a) his or her identification badge; b) the patient’s wristband; c) the IV bag. This confirms that an authorized caregiver is giving the right medication in the right dosage to the right patient. 2. The nurse uses the same HH device to scan barcodes on the IV system before starting the IV. Patient information is then transferred electronically from the pharmacy to the IV pump. 3. The nurse presses a few buttons on the pump to start the IV medication. If an error occurs in matching any of the information, the IV system will not activate, and instead will signal the caregiver to review the data.
The IV Safety System is designed to help verify the “5 Rights” in administering medication to make certain that the right patient receives the right medication in the right prescribed dosage through the right route at the right time.
Ohio Valley uses barcode scanning of IV bags and other doctor-ordered medications to electronically record real-time information in the patient’s medical administration record (MAR).
McKesson Automation and ALARIS Medical Systems market their applications as Connect-IV(TM) and IV-RIGHT(TM), respectively. These applications are available to hospitals using the McKesson Admin-Rx(TM) barcode medication administration solution with the ALARIS(R) Medication Safety system and its Guardrails(R) Safety Software.
A National Problem
According to a nationwide study by HealthGrades Inc. of Lakewood, Colorado, as many as 195,000 people a year could be dying in U.S. hospitals because of easily preventable medication errors. The HealthGrades study also found that about 1.14 million “patient-safety incidents” - mistakes during efforts to rescue dying patients and the death of low-risk patients from infections - occur annually among the nation’s 47 million hospitalizations.
In the 2000-2002 period, the Medicare population represented 45 percent of all U.S. hospital admissions excluding obstetric patients. Among the 323,993 deaths of Medicare patients who developed one or more patient-safety incidents during this period, 263,864, or 81 percent, were directly attributable to those patient-safety incidents.
To minimize the possibility of medical errors, Ohio Valley uses barcode scanning and “smart” infusion pump technology to help verify that every patient receives the right IV medication and dosage through the right route at the right time. Ohio Valley also uses barcode scanning to ensure the accurate administration of oral medication.
Thriving Through Innovation
According to Provenzano, Ohio Valley’s president, the automation of IV administrations exemplifies the Hospital’s unwavering focus on patient safety and comfort. “By making the patient our top priority, we have remained independent despite the expansion of large hospital systems both locally and nationally,” Provenzano says.
“Patients have a choice of hospitals they can use, and they have a lot of influence in determining whether we get more patients,” Provenzano continues. “In addition to providing medical care of the highest quality, we are always considerate, quick and flexible in dealing with our patients and their families. This combination of employing advanced clinical treatments with a personal touch is what differentiates us from other hospitals in this region, and throughout the country.”
About Ohio Valley General Hospital (Ohio Valley)
Pittsburgh’s Ohio Valley General Hospital (Ohio Valley) ( http://www.ohiovalleyhospital.org/ ) is a private, community-owned hospital affiliated with Quorum Health Resources through a management contract since 1984. Ohio Valley is located in Kennedy Township, Pennsylvania, near the intersection of I-79 (Crafton/Moon Exit) and PA Route 60. Ohio Valley serves families in Pittsburgh’s western suburbs, including the townships of Kennedy, Robinson, Moon and Findlay, and the municipalities of McKees Rocks, Oakdale, Crafton, Ingram, Imperial and Coraopolis. The hospital is a 119-bed facility that includes 64 medical surgical beds, 8 critical care beds, 18 intermediate care beds, 10 private OB/GYN beds and 16 acute rehabilitation beds.
About McKesson
McKesson Corporation ( http://www.mckesson.com/ ) is a Fortune 16 healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to helping its customers deliver high-quality healthcare by reducing costs, streamlining processes and improving the quality and safety of patient care. Over the course of its 170-year history, McKesson has grown by providing pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management across the spectrum of care; healthcare information technology for hospitals, physicians, homecare and payors; hospital and retail pharmacy automation; and services for manufacturers and payors designed to improve outcomes for patients.
About ALARIS Medical Systems, Inc.
ALARIS Medical Systems, Inc. ( http://www.alarismed.com/ ), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cardinal Health, Inc. , develops and markets products for the safe delivery of intravenous (IV) medications. The company’s IV medication and infusion therapy delivery systems, software applications, needle-free disposables and related monitoring equipment are marketed in the United States and internationally. ALARIS Medical Systems’ “smart” pumps, with the proprietary Guardrails(R) Safety Software, help to reduce the risks and costs of medication errors, help to safeguard patients and clinicians and gather and record clinical information for review, analysis and interpretation. The Company provides its products, professional and technical support and training services to over 5,000 hospital and health care systems, as well as alternative care sites, in more than 120 countries through its direct sales force and distributors. Headquartered in San Diego, California, ALARIS Medical Systems employs approximately 3,000 people worldwide.
EDITOR’S NOTE: B-Roll footage of the IV Safety System and the hospitalis available upon request. All news kit materials and other relatedinformation are available online at: http://www.ohiovalleyhospital.org/media
Ohio Valley General Hospital
CONTACT: Greg Erhard, Director, Marketing & Physician Development ofOhio Valley General Hospital, +1-412-777-6365, orgerhard@ohiovalleyhospital.org