BD Launches New IV Medication Safety Solution, Helping Improve Patient Safety

CANNES, March 22, 2017 - BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medication technology company, announced today the availability of its new IV Medication Safety Solution, designed to help to measurably prevent IV medication administration errors. This announcement was made at the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) congress, being held in Cannes, France March 22-24.

IV medication errors are a serious health care issue.¹ They can occur at any stage of the medication delivery process, from prescription to administration² and those occurring at the administration stage are the hardest to intercept.³ Their impact depends on the route of administration, type of drug and patient characteristics.^4-8 In particular, intravenous (IV) infusions are identified as frequent contributors to medication errors and patient injuries that result from them.^9-11 Clinical burden associated with infusion administration errors is suggesting potentially serious consequences for the patient in up to 29 percent of all observed infusions.^11-16

BD provides advanced IV medication safety solutions, through helping to standardise drug library protocols with the Alaris^™ Editor, to protect the patient with Alaris^™ Plus Pumps with Guardrails^™ Safety Software, and to evaluate IV medication errors and clinical practice using the Alaris^™ CQI Reporter software and clinical services.

To take a step further in patient safety, BD today is launching the Alaris^™ Communication Engine Platform, an enterprise IT software platform providing automated centralised management of all connected infusion devices. This system enables remote networked updates to the hospital drug library without interrupting the patient's infusions, collecting rich and actionable continuous quality improvement (CQI) data and centralising infusion pump device management.

The Alaris^™ Communication Engine Platform is a key accelerator to BD's IV Medication Safety Solution, demonstrating proven results helping to improve medication errors reduction^17-20 and cost associated to such errors¹⁸ while providing continuous quality improvement.^17-20

"As we continue to provide innovative thinking to address the unmet needs in the area of medication management, BD recognises the growing contributions of connectivity," said Fernand Goldblat, vice president and general manager of Medication Management Solutions Infusion business for BD Europe. "With our IV Medication Safety Solution, BD can assist in creating a safer medication management process for patients while decreasing costs related to preventable adverse events. This addition to our leading Alaris^™ technologies portfolio exemplifies our commitment to transform infusion solutions by making them simpler, seamless and connected.

"This latest development, enhances BD's End-to-End IV Safety capabilities within the Medication Management Solutions portfolio, comprised by the following elements:

• Medication Management Innovation:
  • Through this unique "one partner" approach, BD is the only company that can offer health systems a holistic approach to manage medications throughout admissions, preparation and dispensing. This approach has the power to simplify and streamline medication management processes across the continuum of care. This further advanced for example, by Rowa^TM Dose which allows Hospitals to receive individualised medication's barcoded pouches both for acute and/or long term patients.
• Medication Availability:
  • BD technologies help ensure that the right medication is available when and where needed to improve outcomes and cost-efficiency across the continuum of care. By enabling enterprise-wide medication management and analytics for all medications, BD solutions can improve and automate medication orders and delivery, including IVs and controlled substances.
• End-to-End IV Safety:
  • BD offers clinically proven solutions to help minimise drug management risks while remaining continuously focused on improving and enhancing safety throughout medication management process: from initial compounding to administration at patient's bedside, including today's IV Medication Safety Solution announcement.

Where to find BD at EAHPTo learn more about BD's IV Medication Safety Solution and Medication Management solutions portfolio, including Rowa^™Dose, visit BD booth #81 and participate in our satellite symposium:

• Shifting the Paradigm: Improving Safety From Pharmacy To Every Point Of Care Symposium March 23, 15:00 - 16:30 Esterel Room

Learn the importance of decreasing preventable errors throughout different stages of the medication management workflow, optimizing efficiency and reducing risk of exposure to hazardous drugs during preparation.