ALARIS Medical Revolutionizing Medication Safety, Releasing a State-Of-The-Art Hospital Bedside Medication Safety System.

Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers

NEW ORLEANS--(BW HealthWire)--Dec. 3, 2001

ALARIS Medical Inc., (AMEX:AMI) through its wholly owned subsidiary, ALARIS Medical Systems Inc., today announced the full North American market release of the first modular intravenous infusion platform with proprietary medication error-prevention software.

The MEDLEY(TM) Medication Safety System with its proprietary Guardrails(TM) Safety Software defines a new product category, and represents a bold new direction for ALARIS. The full market release today follows over one year of clinical experience on patients with over three million hours of use in four of the leading teaching hospitals in North America. The announcement was made at the annual American Society of Healthcare Systems Pharmacists in New Orleans.

Patient safety has become a key issue in healthcare, as medical errors result in more than 50,000 deaths annually, making it the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S. Some estimates suggest that as many as 107,000 preventable intravenous medication errors occur each year. The healthcare industry as a whole has put new emphasis on revising patient safety programs to prevent loss of life, increased length of hospital stay, litigation and negative publicity. The MEDLEY Safety System with the Guardrails Safety Software was created to address this problem.

"Medication errors are a huge problem in the healthcare field," said Dave Schlotterbeck, president and chief executive officer of ALARIS Medical Inc. "At ALARIS, we are making it our business to protect patients, caregivers, and institutions from medical error. The MEDLEY System with the Guardrails software is the first IV-related innovation in this direction."

Traditionally known as the pioneer in intravenous large volume and syringe pumps, ALARIS has created a new product category with the MEDLEY Medication Safety System. This system is a modular bedside platform that integrates drug infusion and monitoring in a single, easy-to-use array. The MEDLEY system supports a combination of modules, including a programming module, pump module, and pulse oximetry module. By allowing the integration of a programming module along with four additional modules in multiple combinations, the platform provides one simple interface to simplify caregiver training, and reduce programming complexity.

The new MEDLEY system provides superior customer value by optimizing hospital asset utilization and standardizing device programming. The integration of the Guardrails Safety Software is a significant advancement that allows hospitals to provide standardized best practice guidelines on medication usage right at the patient's bedside. The Guardrails software is adaptable, offering flexibility in configuring multiple care-area and patient-specific parameters. These parameters include device option settings, drug library entries, drug-specific limits, channel labels, multiple appropriate physiologic parameters, and communication links to other hospital information systems. The Guardrails Safety System is the first medication management software that integrates seamlessly with infusion and monitoring systems right at patients' bedsides.

While monitoring patient safety, the Guardrails software prompts caregivers when programming goes outside any of up to 1,000 of the hospital-determined best practice guidelines. The Guardrails software also keeps a detailed event log, including all programming. The Guardrails system can also link with computer systems to access and assist physician order entry, medication administration records, pharmacy information systems, and automated drug and delivery supply systems. On Oct. 3, 2001, ALARIS and McKesson Corp. announced a long-term strategic alliance to develop and co-market products containing these links.

The Guardrails Safety Software is standard with all MEDLEY Medication Safety System units. The addition of the Guardrails Safety Software brings a new level of safety to patients' bedsides, making these popular infusion systems even more valuable to caregivers.

Dave Schlotterbeck concluded, "We are delighted to have pioneered the first and most comprehensive solution to dramatically reduce IV medication errors. We are pleased that we can immediately provide to our customers this state-of-the-art system to support their patient safety initiatives."

ALARIS Medical Inc., through its wholly owned operating company, ALARIS Medical Systems Inc., is a leading developer, manufacturer and provider of integrated intravenous infusion therapy and patient monitoring instruments and related disposables, accessories and services. ALARIS Medical's primary brands, ALARIS(R), IMED(R) and IVAC(R), are recognized throughout the world. ALARIS Medical's products are distributed to more than 120 countries worldwide. In addition to its San Diego world headquarters and manufacturing facility, ALARIS Medical also operates manufacturing facilities in Creedmoor, N.C.; Basingstoke, U.K.; and Tijuana, Mexico. Additional information on ALARIS Medical can be found at www.alarismed.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Persons reading this release are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including the effect of legislative and regulatory changes affecting the health care industry, the potential of increased levels of competition, technological changes, the dependence of ALARIS Medical upon the success of new products (including the MEDLEY Medication Safety System) and ongoing research and development efforts including obtaining regulatory approvals, restrictions contained in the instruments governing the company's indebtedness, and the significant leverage to which the company is subject. Such risk factors are detailed in the Securities and Exchange Commission filings of ALARIS Medical Inc., including Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2000. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments.