ADVISORY/Experts Available To Discuss Requiring Bar Coding To Reduce Medication Errors.

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ADVISORY...

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TOPIC: The Food and Drug Administration plans to require bar codes on patients' prescriptions to ensure that hospital patients are receiving the right medication at the right time, according to an article by The Washington Post. Hospitals can reduce medication errors by matching a bar code on a prescription label to the code on the patient's wristband. The Institute of Medicine released a report in 1999 that stated 770,000 people are injured due to medication errors each year. EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story:

John B. Grotting, MHA--an expert on the use of barcoding in healthcare to prevent medication, blood transfusion and other medical errors, as well as other patient safety topics--is president and CEO of Bridge Medical, an AmerisourceBergen company. Grotting's 28 years of healthcare leadership experience includes executive experience at the $2.6-billion Allina Hospitals & Clinics in Minneapolis, Minn. He and Bridge are known throughout the industry for such award-winning efforts as Bridge's MedPoint patient safety system and the "Beyond Blame" documentary which first drew attention to the problem of medication errors. One of the founders of the National Alliance for Health Information Technology, Grotting has been a national media spokesperson for NAHIT, whose first initiative is to barcode all medications to protect patients. PR: Carol B. Somer, [e-mail], 858-314-5538 or cell: 858-204-7424

Russell "Rusty" Lewis is SVP/COO of Bridge Medical, and heads the R&D arm of the company, which is dedicated to the development of barcode-enabled, point-of-care (BPOC) patient safety software systems for use in hospitals, as well as systems that mine data gathered to provide information that can help providers, insurers, payors, pharmaceutical firms and governmental agencies, maximize clinical and financial outcomes of medication use. He is also the author of a new HIMSS book on Barcoding and BPOC that will be published shortly. Prior to joining Bridge, Lewis served as SVP and chief technology officer of HBOC and McKesson's Information Technology Business. The Microsoft Healthcare Users Group (MS-HUG) board member has been involved for more than 15 years in research and product development for America's leading technology companies, and is the holder of more than 20 U.S. and international patents. PR: Carol B. Somer, [e-mail], 858-314-5538 or cell: 858-204-7424

Mark Neuenschwander is one of the nation's leading barcode experts and principal of the Neuenschwander Company. He will discuss "Bedside Scanning Technologies: Issues and Value" during National Patient Safety Awareness Week. PR: Carol B. Somer, [e-mail], 858-314-5538 or cell: 858-204-7424. On Mar. 12-15, at the Renaissance Washington D.C. Hotel, close to one thousand healthcare professionals from all over the U.S. and other countries, representing a variety of disciplines, will join the National Patient Safety Foundation in "standing up for safety" during National Patient Safety Awareness Week.

ExpertSource cannot guarantee the immediate availability of these experts or their familiarity with this specific issue.

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