The TerraPharma Project Will Convene Pharmacy and Nursing Leaders to Advance the Meaningful Use of Hospital Barcode Systems at The 2011 unSUMMIT

March 15, 2011 | In: Healthcare Barcoding Influencers

SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Clinical leaders in hospital pharmacy, nursing, information technology (IT) and patient safety will convene for the 6th annual unSUMMIT for Bedside Barcoding April 27-29, 2011 in Louisville, KY. Attendees will learn from peer experts and leading solution vendors to explore barcode point-of-care (BPOC) systems, supporting technologies, and their effective use in protecting hospitalized patients from preventable medical error.

This year’s roster of more than 45 speakers will present the barcoding experience of organizations such as:

* Advocate Health Care
* Brigham and Women’s Hospital
* Cancer Treatment Centers of America
* Clarian Health
* Hospital Corporation of America
* Mayo Clinic
* Medical University of South Carolina
* National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
* National Patient Safety Foundation
* Sisters of Mercy Health System
* UPMC Health System
* Vanderbilt University Medical Center
* Veterans Health Administration

The use of BPOC systems to improve positive patient identification and enhance clinical decision support for nurses has been endorsed by the American Society for Health System Pharmacists, the Institute for Safe Medical Practices, the University HealthSystem Consortium and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Yet after more than twenty years, fewer than 40 percent of US hospitals use BPOC systems to verify medication administration at the point of care. But that is a trend likely to change.

Jonathan Perlin, unSUMMIT keynote and chief medical officer for Hospital Corporation of America, said, “Closed loop medication administration using technologies like bar-coding can eliminate harmful and expensive errors in medication administration and assure the patient’s five rights. Beyond freedom from preventable harm that all patients deserve, it’s time to acknowledge the business case for safety — Good safety is good business.”

unSUMMIT co-founder Jamie Kelly added, “With financial incentives driving the meaningful use of healthcare IT, and impending financial penalties for noncompliance, BPOC systems are recognized as a must-have component of an accurate electronic medication administration record — an elemental data set for reporting core measures to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.”

The unSUMMIT seeks to educate interdisciplinary hospital teams on the capacity of BPOC systems, when used correctly, to intercept preventable medication errors and prevent a number of other common medical mistakes stemming from misidentified specimens, blood products, and mother’s milk.

“Everything in healthcare is dependent on one simple act — positively identifying the patient and matching him or her to the proper therapy or procedure ordered by the physician,” said unSUMMIT co-founder Mark Neuenschwander. “Yet positive identification is anything but simple and to do it right every time, requires tools to support caregiver diligence.”

unSUMMIT faculty member and workshop moderator, Richard Malone, encouraged his peers to connect with colleagues regarding BPOC use, “The unSUMMIT meeting serves two purposes: first, to provide hospital leaders with a solid knowledge base on which to build their barcoding vision and, second, to allow veteran users of the technology to share the ways in which they are stretching the boundaries of safer care. I’ve participated in BPOC efforts at 17 hospitals but I still learn something from the program each year.”

About The TerraPharma Project LLC

The TerraPharma Project, LLC (TTP), Bellevue, Wash., is a peer-to-peer education exchange fueled by the conviction that barcode point-of-care (BPOC) technology is low-hanging fruit that delivers high returns for patient safety. Committed to promoting the adoption of BPOC in hospitals across the nation, TTP produces The unSUMMIT for Bedside Barcoding and the online pointofcareforum.com. For more information, download the 2011 agenda at http://www.unsummit.com/pdf/unSUMMIT2011Brochure.pdf or visit http://www.unsummit.com.

Contacts

unSUMMIT for Bedside Barcoding
Mark Neuenschwander, 425-644-6796
Co-Founder
Mark@unsummit.com

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