Of interest ...
My letter (excerpted - tm capnmikel):
Dear Ms. Gurwitch:
The following statement was included in an August 15, 2006 press release issued by CDEX Inc.:
"We feel privileged to add Texas Children’s Hospital to our growing list of internationally recognized healthcare organizations that are using ValiMed." said Jim Griffin, President and CEO of CDEX Inc. “Texas Children’s recognizes the value of ValiMed and has purchased multiple ValiMed units for use across their hospital pharmacy compounding, medication dispensing, and return verification processes.”
Will you be so kind as to tell me if Texas Children's is still using the three ValiMed Medication Validation Systems the press release noted, to perform end product testing of intravenous medications in its pharmacy departments and/or validation of returned narcotics in its operating room suites and nursing units, as the press release states? If so, what is your current appraisal of the system, these 10 or so months after the hospital purchase? If not, why not?
Her reply (excerpted - tm capnmikel):
First, let me tell you that as the Director of Pharmacy and a mother of two, I constantly act and think like a mom in my professional life, to ensure that everything we do for our patients is at the highest level of safety possible. We have significant systems in place to help us manage delivery of the right medication to the right patient at the right time. We continuously evaluate our processes, systems,and people to ensure a high-level performance and review outcomes to validate. We do perform routine testing of certain medications that we prepare. As you can imagine, in a pediatric hospital, we must prepare quite a few medications that are unavailable to us in a ready-to-administer form from the drug companies.
In answer to your specific question, the press release was approved some time ago. Between that time and recently, we performed various tests with the product and determined that it would not meet our desired needs at this time. The company had some ownership and management changes, and wasn't ready to provide us the product we had understood they would be providing. We are currently working with Valimed to identify how the product could be improved to help us enhance our current safety measures. In addition, I have been reviewing other technology improvements that could add value to the systems currently in place.
Please know that the Medical-Pharmacy-Nursing and other health professional groups of Texas Children's Hospital work in unison to ensure the best and safest pediatric care possible.
If you are ever interested in a tour, please consider this an invitation, and I would be honored to do that for you. Thanks for your question and interest.
Karen Gurwitch, PharmD
Director, Pharmacy
