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"In addition to being the only company in the world proven to useRobotics to manufacture chemotherapy, monoclonal antibody therapy and genetherapy ready-to-administer patient doses, we once again lead the market,this time within the controlled substances drug class. I designed i.v.STATIONto automatically cap syringes with a B. Braun TEC1000 tamper-evident cap,enhancing medication safety while reducing waste. Whereas this is arguably adesirable feature for all medications, it is mandatory for controlledsubstances in almost every country in the world. With i.v.STATION's uniquesecurity features, unused syringes can be safely returned to the pharmacy andre-dispensed. i.v.STATION fills a syringe and secures it with a luer-locktwist cap, ensuring the integrity of the contents. The cap unlocks, justprior to syringe use, by pulling the clear protective barrier off andremoving the red syringe cap. Other distinct advantages of i.v.STATION'sdesign over its competitors is the fact that it is the only robot to: a)utilize biometric identification (facial recognition) as opposed to otherrobots' use of simple ID/password combinations; and b) store each controlledsubstance drug vial and each ready-to-administer syringe on its unique slotfor secure retrieval instead of outputting all doses to an open and unsecuredbucket mixing multiple IV doses of controlled substances with multiple IVdoses of other medications" stated Gaspar DeViedma, Health Robotics'Executive V.P.
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Diversion of controlled substances is recognized as a critical problem inthe United States. Healthcare professionals have easy access to controlledsubstances, and according to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing,approximately 15% of healthcare professionals struggle with drug dependence.Drug diversion at hospitals can occur with PRNs [when part or none of themedication is given to the patient exactly on schedule during the shift]. Anurse who worked at the V.A Medical Center in Bedford, Somerville Hospital,and Metro West Medical Center-Framingham was sentenced because she stolenumerous controlled substances from these hospitals. A few years ago, anemergency room nurse at Champlain Valley Physician's Hospital, N.Y., stole anumber of controlled substances, including morphine and methadone, from thehospital's pharmacy department and the ER's locked narcotics cabinet.Additionally, removing injectable controlled substances from their containerand replacing them with saline is another form of drug diversion. A nurse atMorehead Memorial Hospital, N.C., pleaded guilty to stealing morphine,secretly swapping the clear liquid drug with water. Each time, the caps werecut off syringes filled with meperidine and the drug was drained out. Later,the nurse refilled the syringes with saline solution and glued the simplesyringe caps back on. Common diversion methods have been amply documented inscientific literature[1].
"i.v.STATION's combined and unique security features add significantcompetitive advantages over its two competitors as both Baxa's IntelliFilland IHS' RIVA robots utilize a plain Kendall syringe cap which is easilysubject to tampering, accidental spillages, and other problems. This meansnot only patient safety advantages but also exponentially increasing our leadon ROI as i.v.STATION can handle a lot more than antibiotics, heparin andinsulin, the only drug classes that our competitors have been proven tosupport. I look forward to seeing the results that our global partners,especially Health Robotics Canada and the recently announced McKessonexclusive partnership [http://www.pr-inside.com/mckesson-expands-i-v-automation-portfolio-r1873650.htm] achieve in the North American market, as a direct result of this newbreakthrough and industry-first achievement for Health Robotics," statedWerner Rainer, Health Robotics' CEO.
About Health Robotics:
Health Robotics is the undisputed global leading supplier oflife-critical intra-venous medication robots, providing healthcare facilitiesin 5 continents with robotics technology and software automation solutionsdeployed utilizing virtual high-availability technology. Its world-leadingsolutions CytoCare(TM) [hazardous IVs], i.v.STATION(TM) [non-hazardous IVs],i.v.SOFT(TM) [workflow engine for manual compounding, powered byMEDarchiver], and TPNstation(TM) [totally-automated parenteral nutrition]have and will greatly contribute to ease hospitals' growing pressures toimprove patient safety, increase throughput and contain costs. Through theeffective and efficient production of sterile, accurate, tamper-evident andready-to-administer IVs, Health Robotics' solutions help hospitals eliminatelife-threatening drug-exchange errors, decrease other therapy oversights andsterility risks, work more efficiently, reduce waste and controlledsubstances' diversion, and diminish the gap between rising patientvolume/acuity and scarce nursing and pharmacy staff. For more information,please visit http://www.health-robotics.com
[1]
http://www.pppmag.com/pp-p-november-2009/cover-story-preventing-controlled-su
bstances-diversion
(Due to the length of these URLs, it may be necessary to copy and pastethe hyperlinks into your Internet browser's URL address field. Remove thespace if one exists.)For additional information, please contact: Health Robotics S.r.l. Claudia Flaim Marketing Coordinator Italy: +39 0471.200.372 [email protected]
SOURCE Health Robotics
