Computer technology key to reducing hospital drug errors

Premier Clinical Performance Improvement collaborators meet in Kansas City;

present results of pilot studies
Contact: Ken Inchausti
Premier Corporate Communications
704.733.5586 or kenneth_inchausti@premierinc.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KANSAS CITY, MO (April 3, 2001) – Computer technology holds the key to reducing
costly adverse drug events (ADEs) at Premier hospitals, said organizers of the ADE
Clinical Improvement Initiatives Collaborative Forum, held Monday in Kansas City
Mo. Ninety-five Premier hospitals signed up for this ongoing Premier-sponsored
collaborative, according to collaborative co-director Ross Edwards, RPh.

The goal is to decrease ADEs at Premier hospitals by 50 percent by June 2004, said
Ross. "Our focus needs to be on harm, prevention of harm and the prevention of
ADEs."

ADEs are included in a host of medical errors that killed 98,000 people and
contributed to $29 million in escalating healthcare costs last year.

Vicki McKendrick, RN, co-directs the ADE Clinical Performance Initiative

Collaborative with Ross. She explained to collaborators, including pharmacists,
quality directors, safety directors, nurse managers and pharmacy directors, how
laptop computers placed in patients’ hospitals rooms and linked to pharmacists,
nurses and doctors, documented the many errors that might normally go undetected.

In one pilot study, McKendrick said, a Premier hospital in the Pacific Northwest
placed four of these computers in the rooms of eight patients who were in a
cardiac step-down unit for seven days last year. The computer system, produced by
Premier business partner Bridge Medical, replaced the patients’ traditional
medication administration record.

As doctors issued orders in real time and nurses and pharmacists followed the
orders during the week, the computers issued 250 warning messages and recorded 105
medical errors. Ninety-five doses were administered between one and three hours
late. But 29 medical errors were prevented.

The MEs and ADEs , she predicted, would have been greater if the study had
continued more than a week.. She also commented on the the hardships put on
patients who might have additional medical complications, longer hospital stays,
and increased costs related to undetected MEs and ADEs. McKendrick said the good
news is that "The hospitals that have had this equipment for eight to 12 months,
have noticed a significant decrease in MEs (and ADEs) because they have gotten
used to the equipment."

The collaborative is part of Premier’s Clinical Improvement Initiatives. They

strive to improve the safety and quality of healthcare for the more than 1,800
Premier hospitals while reducing costs through best evidence-based practices that
are implemented for widespread use.

McKendrick and Ross are seeking more Premier hospitals to join this ongoing
collaborative. If you’d like more information, contact McKendrick at 803.408.0018.
Ross can be reached at ross_edwards@premierinc.com, or at 704.733.5146.