ADVISORY/Experts Available To Discuss Steps in Protecting Children from Medication Errors.

Business Editors

ADVISORY...

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 2003

TOPIC: The Journal of the American Medical Association states children who are hospitalized have nearly the same chance of experiencing medication errors as adults, according to an article by CBS News. The rate for possible adverse drug events were said to be three times more likely in children than adults, the article says. Experts say parents can follow a few simple steps to protect their children, such as discussing medications with the doctor, asking about measuring devices so the correct dosage is given and making sure that the child wears an ID bracelet while in the hospital. Patient Safety Awareness Week is March 9-15, 2003. EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story:

A former hospital pharmacist and one of Bridge Medical's original founding team, Barbara Trohimovich has been integrally involved in product and clinical database design focused on preventing medication errors. Firsthand clinical experience with medication errors, and the realization of how easily simple barcode technology at the bedside could prevent these errors, was one of several factors that impelled her to join a little start-up health information technology (HIT) company called Bridge Medical in 1996. In fact, as the seventh employee hired, Trohimovich was one of a small team that pioneered the use of barcode-enabled point-of-care (BPOC) technology in hospitals to help prevent medication errors. Now, Bridge Medical is recognized as the leader in the use of barcode technology to prevent medication and other medical errors, and Trohimovich travels the country, supervising implementation of Bridge MedPoint(TM) patient safety software solutions at hospitals large and small, and speaking to clinicians about Bridge technology, error prevention and process improvement. The Oregon native is a chapter author for The Impact of Information Technology on Patient Safety, an award-winning HIT textbook published by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society in 2002, and co-author of a new Bridge white paper on "The Effect of Barcode-enabled Point of Care Technology on Patient Safety" that reviews evidence of the efficacy of BPOC in promoting patient safety in hospitals. PR: Carol B. Somer, [e-mail], 858-314-5538 or cell: 858-204-7424

Mary Michael Brown, RN, MS is a senior clinical consultant for Bridge Medical. Brown uses her 20-plus years of clinical and consulting experience to help hospitals use root-cause analyses and other methods to analyze medication error data, and improve quality and reduce cost. Brown has authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and textbook chapters on both clinical and leadership topics. A former adjunct faculty member at some of the nation's leading nursing schools, e.g., Boston, Catholic, Georgetown, George Mason and San Diego State (graduate program) Universities. She has been presenting studies of patient safety and quality improvement at professional conferences and seminars around the country for decades. A member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) and Sigma Theta Tau, Brown received AACN's Excellence in Management Award in 1990 for her work as nursing coordinator at Georgetown University Hospital, ranked among the nation's top hospitals by U.S. News and World Report. A registered critical care nurse (CCRN) for 19 years, and a registered nurse (RN) for the past 26, Brown also worked as a staff nurse and a clinical nurse specialist at Boston University Medical Center in Boston. In addition to developing the hospital's progressive care unit, she provided direct care to critically ill adult cardiac surgical patients, and education and consultation to nursing staff on cardiac surgical telemetry, surgical adult and orthopedic units. PR: Carol B. Somer, [e-mail], 858-314-5538 or cell: 858-204-7424

David Shulkin, M.D. is founder and president of the Patient Safety Officer Society. Shulkin is Drexel University School of Medicine's first Chief Quality Officer and the Chief Medical Officer of the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital. He is former chief medical officer/chief quality officer at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. He is an expert on patient safety and doctor quality. 215-842-6020, [e-mail]

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