Integrating ICU Medical Infusion Devices with Hospital Electronic Medical Records Decreased Major Dosing Errors by 52 Percent

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Feb. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ICU Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICUI), a leader in innovative medical devices for infusion therapy, oncology and critical care, today announced results of a new multi-hospital study that shows dramatic improvements in potentially catastrophic dosing errors (PCDE) and drug library compliance when its Plum^® infusion pumps and Hospira MedNet^® safety software are integrated with hospitals' electronic medical records (EMR). Results of the study will be featured in the company's booth #1053 at the HIMSS '17 Conference and Exhibition February 19-23 in Orlando.

The study showed a 52 percent decrease in the rate of PCDE's and an average of 156 overall average percent increase in compliance with a participating hospital's drug libraries after smart pump-EMR integration, which was consistent across hospitals and sustained after integration. One hospital saw a decrease in the PCDE rate of as much as 73 percent. There was also a large and statistically significant reduction in the variability in the severity of individual PCDEs. PCDEs are defined as initial programmed doses of intravenous medications considered 'High Alert' medicationsⁱ by the Institute of Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) that were either 100 percent greater than or 50 percent less than the final programmed doses.

The study was performed at three US community hospitals ranging from 50 to 350 beds integrating a Cerner Millennium™ EMR with ICU Medical's Plum^® smart infusion system using Hospira MedNet safety software. More than 500,000 programming sequences were examined as part of the study. The primary outcome showed the impact of clinical integration of infusion devices with the EMR on reducing serious, preventable medication errors. All three metrics—incidence rate, compliance, and variability of severity—improved at each individual hospital. When analyzing data month by month over the study period, the reduction in PCDEs clearly pivoted around the "Go-live" date and is sustained after integration. A white paper detailing the study can be viewed here.

"Both the reduced range of variance of PCDEs and the narrower confidence intervals in the post integration data demonstrate that variability in programming is greatly reduced after integration," explained Valerie King, MS, BSN, HumD, one of the study authors. "Successful integration of infusion devices and hospitals' EMR enables healthcare providers to ensure the "Five Rights" verification—right patient, medication, dose, time and route."

About ICU Medical, Inc.
About ICU Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq:ICUI) develops, manufactures and sells innovative medical devices used in vascular therapy, oncology and critical care applications. ICU Medical's product portfolio includes IV smart pumps, sets, connectors and solutions along with pain management and safety software technology designed to help meet clinical, safety and workflow goals. In addition, the company manufactures automated pharmacy compounding systems with workflow technology, closed systems transfer devices for hazardous drugs, disposable blood pressure transducers, advanced sensor catheters, and cardiac monitoring systems. ICU Medical is headquartered in San Clemente, California. More information about ICU Medical, Inc. can be found at www.icumed.com.

Media Contact:
Tom McCall, ICU Medical, Inc.
949-366-4368
[e-mail]

i	Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP). ISMP List of High-Alert Medication in Acute Care Settings [web page]. Created 2014. Available at https://www.ismp.org/Tools/highalertmedications.pdf. Accessed May 16, 2016.

 

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SOURCE ICU Medical, Inc.

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