CDEX (Old)

[Sassy]

Hospital Tests Intravenous Drug Technology
This post looks better...


http://www.nursezone.com/job/DevicesandTechnology.asp?articleID=14097Michigan


By Christina Orlovsky, senior staff writer

The prevention of medication errors has always been a concern of pharmacists, lab technicians, nurses and physicians. Several new technologies, including bar coding and robotic pharmacies, have helped reduce the risk of error occurring with oral medications, but not much has been done to improve the safety of intravenous drugs—until now. Pharmacists at the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, are piloting a new technology aimed at verifying the identity and concentration of high-risk IV medications.

The ValiMed System, created by ValiMed, Inc., flashes an ultraviolet (UV) light into one-milliliter samples of medication. Each medication has a unique “fingerprint,” called a fluorescence signature, which can be detected in 30 seconds by the UV light, explained Jim Stevenson, Pharm.D., the director of pharmacy services for the University of Michigan Health System. The pharmacists compare the signature with the prescribed concentration before sending the drug out to the patient.

Originally developed to detect explosives, the ValiMed System made its foray into health care in three hospitals that use the technology to test narcotic drug returns in the operating room. C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital is the first facility to use the ValiMed System for this intravenous drug purpose.

“We were looking for a way to make the medication system safer because we know that occasionally, even with experienced pharmacists and technicians, human error can make it past the checks and practices of the hospital pharmacy. Particularly with high-risk intravenous drugs, we wanted to eliminate that human error,” Stevenson said. “When I discovered that the ValiMed System was being used to detect narcotics, I thought, why couldn’t it be used to test high-risk drugs as well?”

Stevenson worked with ValiMed, Inc., to develop the capability and decided the system would work well in the pharmacy setting. In June, the hospital began creating signatures for the top 10 high-risk medications, as determined by the pharmacy staff and a host of published studies. Among these medications are insulin, blood thinners such as heparin, painkillers like morphine and the antibiotic vancomycin. According to Stevenson, all of the medications can produce toxic effects if administered incorrectly.

While the testing of the medications takes place in the pharmacy, the ValiMed System also has an enormous impact on the nursing staff.

“From a nurse’s perspective, when an error happens in the pharmacy with intravenous drugs, there is no way for a nurse to detect and prevent that error because they are dealing with clear liquids. Nurses have to trust that the drug that’s in the bag and its concentration are correct, and they have no way to head it off if it’s not,” Stevenson explained. “This system gives them some added peace of mind and another layer of security to make sure their patient is getting the right drug and concentration.”

For more information, visit the ValiMed Web site.

© 2005. AMN Healthcare, Inc. All Rights Reserved.