News & Events
Patient Safety at Your Fingertips; BD Develops Hand-Held Device Solutions to Reduce Medication Errors
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Franklin Lakes, NJ (March 21, 2000) -- With the addition of new software from BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), the popular hand-held computer that helps people manage their personal and professional lives now has the potential to go one step further -- and save lives. BD's application software on the Palm™ computing platform may provide a key to solving the recently publicized problem of medical errors in health care facilities across the nation. Medical errors aren't news to health care professionals. A recent survey of hospital risk managers and administrators conducted by BD found that nearly 98 percent of those polled believe that medication error is a significant problem in the U.S. health care system. What is new is that medical professionals can reduce the likelihood of medication and specimen errors that may result in patient injury or death by using specially designed software running on Palm OS® software and hand-held computers. In fact, medication and specimen error may be reduced by as much as two thirds using portable hand-held systems, according to preliminary studies conducted by BD, a leading medical device company and longtime proponent of patient and health care worker safety. BD recently launched the BD Rx and Dx Systems, which are built on the Palm™ computing platform and are designed to reduce medication errors at the administrative stage and specimen errors at the collection stage, respectively. The majority of medication errors are linked to a failure to verify the ''Five Rights'' of medication administration at bedside, namely, right patient, right time, right drug, right dose and right administration route. Similarly, specimen errors often occur at bedside, leading to incorrect results, patient discomfort and, in some cases, death. ''BD is at the forefront of ensuring patient safety by developing innovative ways to support the continued efforts of health care institutions to prevent medical error,'' said Sam Riccitelli, vice president and general manager of BD. ''With over 8,000 drugs available for treatment at nearly 5,000 hospitals, immediate access to information about patients and medication is essential to the health care industry.'' The BD Rx and Dx Systems utilize the Symbol SPT 1740 handheld device, which is based on the Palm™ computing platform. Barcode scanning capabilities, pick lists and pull-down menus allow for quick data capture, while Riverbed Technologies' ScoutSync software provides the simultaneous, two-way communication between the device and the BD Rx/Dx System server that is essential to safety and quality throughout the medication management and specimen collection processes. The BD Dx System is currently employed at a large Northeastern hospital, which is also in the process of implementing the BD Rx System. About BD
Palm OS is a registered trademark and Palm is a trademark of Palm, Inc. or its subsidiaries.
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