ALARIS Medical Systems Releases Harm-Prevention Software for PCA Delivery.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 31, 2004

Adventist Medical Center is the Beta Site for the Medley PCA 

Module, the Latest Addition to the Company's Medication Safety System

ALARIS Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE:AMI), developer of products for the safe delivery of intravenous (IV) medications, announced today the limited release of the Medley(TM) Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA) Module with the Guardrails(R) Safety Software at Adventist Medical Center in Portland. The hospital is one of the over 100 customers currently using the Medley(TM) Medication Safety System and has implemented 50 Medley(TM) PCA Modules throughout the institution.

ALARIS Medical Systems is the only provider of harm-prevention software in a modular medication safety system. The company's proprietary Medley(TM) System offers coverage for all infusions on one platform and includes PCA, large volume delivery, patient monitoring and syringe delivery. The Medley(TM) PCA Module for the administration of pain management drugs is the latest addition to the expanding Medley(TM) Medication Safety System.

"We are very excited with the addition of the Medley(TM) PCA Module to our ALARIS(R) medication safety system," said Pam Almandinger, RN, Clinical Educator at Adventist Medical Center. "It helps us do more than ensure the right drug, right concentration and right programming; it goes a step further to help avoid potential patient harm from oversedation."

Misprogramming of a PCA device has been cited as one of the most commonly reported errors related to PCA deliveries. Hospitals have experienced real costs related to oversedation and respiratory depression with PCA devices, including the occurrence of life-threatening events. These factors create an impetus for a change in the PCA environment to ensure the safest technology and improvement processes are in place.

The addition of the Medley(TM) PCA Module to the Medley(TM) System provides harm-prevention software across the continuum of all PCA deliveries. The Medley(TM) PCA Module uses the Guardrails(R) Safety Software, embedded in the Medley(TM) System, to enable hospitals to customize a drug library specific for PCA drugs, concentrations, and dose limits that each hospital can define for each patient care area. This provides a built-in safety check for every PCA delivery, including pre-filled and pharmacy-filled medication syringes.

"PCA therapy for pain management can be different not just for every hospital but also for every patient care area, from post-anesthesia to general surgical to oncology units," said Jake St. Philip, vice president and general manager of ALARIS Medical Systems' North American Business Unit. "For this reason we developed the Medley(TM) PCA Module to be the only PCA technology that is part of a medication safety system that brings hospital's medication safety protocol to every syringe PCA delivery in the hospital."

In addition, the Medley(TM) System is the first and only medication safety system with the ability to combine PCA and patient monitoring on a single platform with the Medley(TM) SpO2 Module. This allows hospitals to view monitoring and PCA dosing data on the same screen, providing an additional tool to help clinicians assess patient physiological response to PCA therapy. By showing monitoring values along with PCA dosing history, the Medley(TM) System provides the information clinicians need to help ensure the right response. No other PCA or infusion system can provide this level of integration and data to help reduce the potential for harm from the most serious side effects of opioid deliveries at the bedside.

The Medley(TM) System is a modular medication safety system that hospitals can build on that offers coverage for patient monitoring and infusions including PCA, large volume delivery and syringe delivery. Having these multiple devices across the same platform with a common user interface supported by the Guardrails(R) Software simplifies caregiver training, allows for communications with the different types of devices, and reduces the complexity and sheer number of devices at the bedside while helping to protect patients from harm due to medication errors.

At the end of this limited release, ALARIS Medical Systems anticipates general market release of the Medley(TM) PCA Module.

About Adventist Medical Center

Adventist Medical Center is a nonprofit, 302-bed facility, offering services throughout the East Side of the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area. Adventist Health/Medical Group, comprised of over 60 primary care physicians who staff 15 medical clinics in the greater Portland and Vancouver areas, is part of the Northwest Network of Adventist Health. Both are members of Adventist Health, headquartered in Roseville, California. The organization represents regional delivery networks spanning California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington.

About ALARIS Medical Systems, Inc.

ALARIS Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE:AMI) develops and markets products for the safe delivery of intravenous (IV) medications. The Company's IV medication and infusion therapy delivery systems, software applications, needle-free disposables and related monitoring equipment are marketed in the United States and internationally. ALARIS Medical Systems' "smart" pumps, with the proprietary Guardrails(R) Safety Software, help to reduce the risks and costs of medication errors, help to safeguard patients and clinicians and gather and record clinical information for review, analysis and interpretation. 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 3,000 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, and the amount of the Company's indebtedness. Such risk factors are detailed in the Securities and Exchange Commission filings of ALARIS Medical Systems, Inc., including Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, and other filings. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments.