ADVISORY/Experts Available to Discuss Common Medication Errors in U.S. Hospitals.

Business Editors

ADVISORY...

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 2002

TOPIC: A study appearing in the Sept. 9 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine finds that errors regarding medication delivery to patients are common in U.S. hospitals, according to an article by Reuters Health. The study, which involved 36 hospitals and nursing facilities in Georgia and Colorado, found that mistakes were made in 19% of the doses given to patients, the article says. The most common mistake was administering medication at the wrong time. Experts claim implementing bar code medication systems at the point-of-care may reduce these errors. EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story:

Mr. John B. Grotting, MHA, is president and chief executive officer of Bridge Medical, Inc., a leading health information technology (HIT) firm. He and Bridge are nationally known for their innovative educational and technological efforts in the patient safety arena. Bridge's award-winning MedPoint(TM) software system is a barcode-enabled point-of-care (BPOC) patient safety system that's helping hospitals around the country prevent medication, blood transfusion and other medical errors at the hospital bedside. Grotting has over 28 years of healthcare management experience in a variety of health service and technology settings, and has served in executive roles at three health systems, including Allina Health Systems. Grotting co-authored a new white paper entitled "The Effect of Barcode-enabled Point-of-care Technology on Patient Safety" scheduled to be published this month by Bridge. He speaks frequently on patient safety and related topics, and recently served as a media spokesperson for the new National Alliance for Health Information Technology (Bridge was a founding member), which has made barcoding a priority. PR: Carol Somer, 858-314-5538, 703-593-5786 (cell), [e-mail].

Ms. Mary Michael Brown RN, MS, is a senior clinical consultant for Bridge Medical, Inc. Brown uses her 20-plus years 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. Brown co-authored a new white paper entitled "The Effect of Barcode-enabled Point-of-care Technology on Patient Safety" scheduled to be published this month by Bridge. A former adjunct faculty member at some of the nation's leading nursing schools, 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. PR: Carol Somer, 858-314-5538, 703-593-5786 (cell), [e-mail].

Ms. Cynthia S. Speiss, RN is the director of clinical affairs for VHA Inc. She is responsible for program development and delivery of VHA's national programs that address prevention of medication errors and the improvement in treatment for heart attacks. Speiss has more than 10 years of training in quality improvement. PR: Lisa O'Steen, [e-mail] or PR: Veronica Hunt ([e-mail], 310-659-5380).

Mr. Barry Chaiken, MD is the vice president for product marketing at McKesson Corporation. Dr. Chaiken is well-versed in the technology of healthcare. He can talk about those new technologies, and how they will affect the industry -- doctors using computers, reducing medical errors via new technology, medical records on the Internet, and how wireless technology will improve patient care. PR: Aaron Williams ([e-mail], 404-816-2037).

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

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