ALARIS Medical Systems Releases ASENA CC Syringe Pump with Guardrails Safety Software; The Company Expands Error-Prevention Software to Markets Outside the United States.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 1, 2003

ALARIS Medical Systems Inc. (NYSE:AMI) announced today that it has released the ASENA(R) CC Syringe Pump with its proprietary Guardrails(R) Safety Software for markets outside the United States. ALARIS Medical Systems' International Business Unit will be working in close collaboration with key institutions in a number of countries, including New Zealand and the United Kingdom, to implement the Company's error-prevention software and help improve medication safety.

Frederic Denerolle, Vice President and General Manager -- International, said, "We are delighted with the initial response to the ASENA(R) CC Syringe Pump with the Guardrails(R) Safety Software, which we have received from many key hospitals. This is an important step in the execution of our medication safety strategy on a world-wide basis."

The Guardrails(R) Safety Software, available only from ALARIS Medical Systems, lies at the core of the Company's "smart" infusion systems and provides an automatic safety net for infusion programming focused on medication error-prevention at the critical point of intravenous (IV) delivery to the patient. Medication errors are a world-wide problem, and recent research indicates that they occur frequently. A recent study conducted in Europe estimates that administration error rates vary from 27% to 49% of medication errors and the majority of errors are likely to be of 'moderate' to 'severe' outcome.(1)

The Guardrails(R) Safety Software helps protect patients from infusion programming errors by allowing institutions to configure unique care-specific profiles with pre-defined drug dose limits and other delivery parameters to meet the particular needs of multiple patient care areas. To further support patient and caregiver safety, the ASENA(R) System can be used with the award-winning SmartSite(R) Needle-Free System, which offers a comprehensive product line, including administration sets, gravity sets, extension sets and components, which help eliminate the need for needles from the IV process and thus greatly reduces the danger of needle stick injuries to caregivers.

The ASENA(R) Infusion System consisting of syringe pumps, volumetric infusion pumps and the ASENA(R) Docking Station has already established a leadership position outside the United States, where syringe pumps are frequently the instruments of choice to deliver critical drugs. The addition of the Guardrails(R) Safety Software will provide additional clinical benefits for ALARIS Medical Systems' large international customer base and will help provide medication safety where the risk of harm to patients is the greatest, at the point of care.

About ALARIS Medical Systems Inc.

ALARIS Medical Systems Inc. (NYSE: AMI) develops practical solutions for medication safety. The company designs, manufactures and markets intravenous (IV) medication delivery and infusion therapy devices, needle-free disposables and related monitoring equipment in the United States and internationally. ALARIS Medical Systems' proprietary Guardrails(R) Safety Software, its other "smart" technologies and its "smart" services help to reduce the risks and costs of medication errors, help to safeguard patients and clinicians and also gather and record clinical information for review, analysis and transcription. The company provides its products, professional and technical support and training services to over 5,000 hospital and health care systems, as well as alternative care sites, in more than 120 countries through its direct sales force and distributors. Headquartered in San Diego, California, ALARIS Medical Systems employs approximately 2,900 people worldwide. Additional information on ALARIS Medical Systems can be found at http://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 Systems upon the success of new products (including its proprietary Guardrails(R) Safety Software and the Medley(TM) 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. and ALARIS Medical Systems Inc., including Forms 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2002, and other filings. On June 30, 2003 the two companies were merged. Subsequent SEC filings are available only for ALARIS Medical Systems Inc. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments.

(1) Wirtz V, Taxis K, Barber ND. An observational study of intravenous medication errors in the United Kingdom and in Germany. Pharm World Sci. 2003, 25(3): 104-11.