Baxter International Introduces Comprehensive Guide For Building A Smart Infusion System Drug Library

DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX), a leader in innovative technology for medication delivery, today announced a new, comprehensive guide to building a smart infusion system drug library. The guide is available now on the website of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP)—the leading medication safety organization—at www.ISMP.org.

Drug libraries help clinicians identify potential infusion errors before they harm patients by checking the pump’s programming against a curated list of medications and fluids and their medically appropriate dose ranges. If programming exceeds drug library limits, smart pumps will alert clinicians.

“A carefully built drug library is critical for the safe and effective use of any smart infusion system. This publication guides comprehensive drug library development and integration with an electronic health record, and is designed to advance infusion safety in all hospitals regardless of infusion system,” said guide lead author, Tim Hoh, RPh, senior manager, Medical Affairs, Baxter.

Baxter incorporated input from ISMP into a tool intended to be used by the many diverse stakeholders within a hospital, including the pharmacy team, nursing staff, prescribers and IT representatives, all of whom serve crucial roles on building and maintaining the drug library.

Baxter developed the guide based on real-world experience helping to build drug libraries for thousands of healthcare facilities that use the Sigma Spectrum Infusion System, which has resulted in hospitals achieving an average 97 percent drug library compliance rate within the first month of implementation.

About Sigma Spectrum Infusion System

Sigma Spectrum’s hardware works in concert with the pump’s software to encourage use of innovative features that are designed to help enhance patient safety and clinician efficiency. For example, the pumps automatically default to the installed drug library without requiring clinicians to take extra steps to “opt-in,” and drug library updates can be delivered wirelessly to pumps in the facility without interrupting clinical workflow. Sigma Spectrum is the only pump to include a built-in Dose/Rate Change Error Prevention Feature, which helps clinicians protect high-risk infusions during titrations, and allows pharmacists to customize dose change limits for individual drugs. Sigma Spectrum also includes features like integration with electronic health record (EHR) systems—including Cerner^® and Epic^®—to help streamline clinical workflow and improve accuracy of IV infusion documentation, built-in real-time location tracking of equipment within a facility to protect against misplacement, enhanced data analytics and use of standard IV set technology that can yield up to 53 percent cost savings in IV tubing sets and 30 percent reduction in IV tubing use.¹

Rx Only. For the safe and proper use of this device, refer to the appropriate operator’s manuals.

About Baxter

Baxter provides a broad portfolio of essential renal and hospital products, including home, acute and in-center dialysis; sterile IV solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition; biosurgery products and anesthetics; and pharmacy automation, software and services. The company’s global footprint and the critical nature of its products and services play a key role in expanding access to healthcare in emerging and developed countries. Baxter’s employees worldwide are building upon the company’s rich heritage of medical breakthroughs to advance the next generation of healthcare innovations that enable patient care.

Baxter and Sigma Spectrum are trademarks of Baxter International Inc.

Cerner is a registered trademark of Cerner Corporation and/or its subsidiaries.

Epic is a registered trademark of Epic Systems Corporation in the United States and/or in other countries.

¹ Data on File. Baxter Healthcare Corporation. Total cost of ownership standard set technology inventory and cost reduction data 2011- 2013. *Data provided by these facilities. Baxter makes no guarantee of cost savings.