PharMEDium Introduces Innovative New Admixture Label Design
PharMEDium Services, LLC, the leading provider of outsourced hospital pharmacy I.V. compounded solutions, has launched an enhanced labeling platform. The new design is intended to enhance quality of care in the OR while maximizing resources.
The company announced the initiative at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists' Summer Meeting and exhibition here.
The national initiative, the first of its kind in the outsourced compounding industry, was designed as a result of extensive research into current hospital labeling practices including a comprehensive failure and effects mode (FMEA) analysis around the overall readability of admixture labels and representation of critical drug information (e.g., drug name and concentration). This FMEA analysis led to the development of copyrighted, patent-pending warning statements that alert clinicians to appropriate dosing guidelines by drug category, said Rich Kruzynski, R.Ph., President, PharMEDium.
"The enhanced labeling platform aligns with the recommendations of national leaders involved in medication error-related quality and patient safety improvements, such as the Joint Commission," Kruzynski said. We are clearly taking strong steps to be part of the solution in improving resource utilization while supporting improvement in the quality of patient care."
The enhanced labeling will be implemented across all compounding services during 2008, Kruzynski said. Initially, the new labels will apply to four I.V. patient controlled analgesia (PCA) pain management drugs -- morphine, fentanyl, hydromorphone, and meperidine, as well as local anesthetics for epidural and peripheral nerve block therapy. "The platform will differentiate various PCA drugs in our service offering and doses within each drug family," he noted. "Upgraded I.V. PCA labels will first affect cassettes, syringes, and PCA vials. Over the remainder of 2008, we will be enhancing the labeling throughout our service platform."
About PharMEDium Services, LLC
For more than 15 years, PharMEDium has been the leading provider of outsourced compounding services. In that time, PharMEDium has grown into a nationwide network of state licensed and federally registered compounding centers providing trusted solutions to more than 1,800 hospitals throughout the United States. Managed by licensed pharmacists and staffed by certified technicians, the company complies with all applicable state laws and FDA regulations, including USP Chapter < 797 > and DEA requirements.
Source: PharMEDium Services, LLC