University of Maryland Medical Center Adds Omnicell Medication Automation Technology In Operating Rooms

BALTIMORE, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The 655-bed University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) announced today that it has completed automation of 31 operating rooms with Omnicell, Inc. Anesthesia Workstations to help improve patient care and control and track medications.

The announcement was made during a news conference held at the 2006 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference and Exhibition.

Omnicell's Anesthesia Workstation is designed to satisfy the unique needs of the anesthesia provider in the operating room. The system operates as a mobile system for the management of anesthesia supplies and medications -- helping facilities meet regulatory requirements pertaining to medication management, while providing clinicians with the convenience and time to focus on patient care.

"The system helps with our billing accuracy, because doctors no longer need to fill out paperwork to obtain medications used in patient surgeries, which could result in lost charges," explained Joyce Breinlinger, UMMC business operations coordinator. She added, "The locked Omnicell units require the doctors to enter a patient's name so all medications, including narcotics, are recorded and charged properly when used. Adding the Anesthesia Workstations in each operating room means that doctors don't have to leave the patient's bedside to pick up medications."

The University of Maryland Medical Center has installed the workstations in five labor/delivery suites, six trauma operating rooms, and 20 general operating rooms.

About UMMC

The University of Maryland Medical Center is a major, innovative teaching hospital in downtown Baltimore that provides a full range of healthcare to more than 250,000 patients each year from Maryland and the mid-Atlantic region. It serves as a regional referral center for the most serious and complicated health problems in adults and children, including cancer, trauma, heart disease, neurological conditions and organ transplants.

About Omnicell

Established in 1992, Omnicell is a leading provider of patient safety solutions preferred by nurses. Improving patient care by enhancing operational efficiency, Omnicell solutions are used throughout the healthcare facility -- in the pharmacy, nursing units, surgical services, cath lab, and all the way to the patient's bedside. The company's MedGuard(TM) line of solutions for the medication-use process includes systems for physician order management, automated pharmacy retrieval, medication packaging, medication dispensing, and nursing workflow automation with bar code medication administration. For the medical-surgical supply chain, Omnicell provides open bar code systems, cabinet-based supply management, integrated open and cabinet-based systems, and Web-based procurement. More than 1,600 healthcare facilities use Omnicell solutions to help reduce medication errors, operate more efficiently, and decrease costs -- ultimately contributing to improved clinical and financial outcomes. For more information, visit www.omnicell.com.

Omnicell, Inc.

CONTACT: Bruce Lewis of Lewis & Summers Public Relations, +1-707-964-3844,or bruce@prwebsite.com, for Omnicell, Inc.

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