PharMEDium Adds O.R. Medication Verification System

NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PharMEDium announced the first generation solution designed to support medication safety and documentation in the Operating Room (O.R.).  PharMEDium has developed the first bar code scanner to support medication verification administration.  "Our certiMED™ system is designed to be used with the extensive line of PharMEDium Ready-to-Use O.R. syringe medications by providing a visual and audible double check at the point of administration," said David Jonas, PharMEDium Chairman and CEO.

In the O.R., anesthesia providers prepare and administer critical medications in a complex environment.  The certiMED™ scanner is designed to function as an extension to the market leading PharMEDium O.R. anesthesia syringe labels featuring the American Society of Anesthesiologists' endorsed ASTM color standard to differentiate drugs within a class (http://www.asahq.org/For-Healthcare-Professionals/Standards-Guidelines-and-Statements.aspx).  The certiMED™ scanner was also developed with pharmacy requirements in mind.  certiMED™ provides a means to reconcile medications in real time while supporting the anesthesia provider by integrating pharmacy resources into the medication use process in the O.R. through the drug library.

The Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) held a summit on Medication Safety in the Operating Room in 2010.  The outcome was a set of recommendations encompassed by the acronym S.T.P.C. or Standardization, Technology, Prefilled/Pharmacy/Premixed and Culture of Safety (http://www.apsf.org/newsletters/pdf/spring_2010.pdf).  With the addition of the certiMED™ system, PharMEDium now can offer a combined solution to support the overall implementation of the APSF recommendations.  The APSF Technology recommendation calls for "providing anesthetizing locations with a mechanism to identify medications before drawing up or administering them (bar code reader) and a mechanism to provide feedback and decision support…" (http://www.apsf.org/newsletters/pdf/spring_2010.pdf).  The certiMED™ scanner can directly support the implementation of this recommendation by confirming that the intended Ready-to-Use prefilled PharMEDium syringe was selected correctly.

PharMEDium is the national leading provider of pharmacy sterile intravenous admixture compounding services. The PharMEDium network of state licensed and federally registered compounding centers provides trusted solutions to hospitals throughout the United States. PharMEDium complies with all applicable state laws and federal regulations, including USP Chapter (797), and DEA requirements.  For more information on PharMEDium, visit www.pharmedium.com.

SOURCE PharMEDium