5th Annual NPSF Patient Safety Congress Looks at Safety from Nine Points of View … BPOC — Barcoding — and CPOE Among IT Solutions Featured

Business Wire, March 11, 2003

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers/High-Tech Writers

CHICAGO & WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 11, 2003

On Mar. 12-15, at the Renaissance Washington D.C. Hotel, close to one thousand healthcare professionals from all over the U.S. and other countries, representing a variety of disciplines, will join the National Patient Safety Foundation in "standing up for safety" during National Patient Safety Awareness Week.

As they gather in the nation's capital for the Fifth Annual NPSF Patient Safety Congress, they will also be following President Bush's directive to "exchange information" to help keep patients safe, noted NPSF Congress Co-Chair William F. Jessee, MD, CMPE.

"Over the course of four days, attendees will have a rare opportunity to study and interact with national leaders who will offer detailed instructional presentations, case studies and facilitate invaluable discussions," said Jessee, president and chief executive officer of the Medical Group Management Association, and a member of the NPSF board.

The theme of this year's meeting is "Let's Get Results" and the emphasis will be on presenting solutions and methods to improve the safety of patients.

The Congress will feature educational tracks on employers/workforce, health plan, hospitals & nursing, media, medical groups and ambulatory care, NPSF research, partnering with patient & families, and pharmaceutical & device manufacturers. A ninth track on information technology includes sessions on computerized prescriber order entry systems (CPOE) and barcode-enabled point-of-care (BPOC) software systems ... the two methods consumers say they prefer -- according to an AmerisourceBergen Index(C) released Feb. 26 -- as a way to increase medication-dispensing accuracy.

Sessions on BPOC and CPOE include:

-- Mark Neuenschwander -- one of the nation's leading barcode experts and principal of the Neuenschwander Co. -- will discuss "Bedside Scanning Technologies: Issues and Value."

-- Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) VP Judy Smetzer, RN, BSN, former NPSF Cybrarian Lorri Zipperer and Malcolm Baldrige examiner Kate Goonan, MD, will discuss the new "Pathways for Medication Safety." This coordinated and comprehensive set of medication-error reduction tools includes a barcode readiness assessment tool for hospitals planning to invest in BPOC software systems.

-- Wendy Wittwer, RN, BSN, will present a poster on "Making Patient Safety a Top Priority -- Using Bar Code Technology during the Medication Administration Process." The clinical coordinator will detail St. Marys Hospital Medical Center's pioneering use of a BPOC system from Bridge Medical called MedPoint(TM) to intercept medication errors, and describe their interdisciplinary team approach to addressing safety concerns. (St. Marys' use of MedPoint was among the programs Baldrige examiners reviewed before honoring the Madison, Wis., hospital's parent organization, SSM HEALTH CARE, with the healthcare industry's first Baldrige award.)

-- Patient safety expert David C. Classen, MD, MS -- vice president of First Consulting Group -- will explore "The Art and Science of CPOE" ... a safety solution advanced by Leapfrog.

NPSF Convenors: "Who's Who" of Healthcare

"To disseminate the message of patient safety as widely as possible this year," noted NPSF Congress Co-Chair Susan Edgman-Levitan, PA, "we broadened the list of convenors to include four federal agencies, the country's two leading group purchasing organizations, one medical school and dozens of other safety-minded organizations."

"Bridge is proud to be the only software vendor in this elite group of safety advocates," said Bridge President and CEO John B. Grotting. "Our commitment to NPSF has been unwavering over the years and we applaud those who continue to dedicate their time to working towards viable solutions to the problem of medical errors."

In addition to NPSF, Bridge Medical and the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences (at Eisenhower Medical Center), the other 33 convenors of this year's Congress are, in alphabetical order:

1. AARP

2. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

3. American Association for the Advancement of Science

4. American Hospital Association

5. American Medical Association

6. American Nurses Association

7. American Organization of Nurse Executives

8. American Society for Healthcare Risk Management

9. American Society for Quality

10. American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

11. Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation

12. Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection

Programs Inc.

13. Association of periOperative Registered Nurses

14. Council on Public Interest Anesthesia

15. Department of Defense

16. FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research

17. Federation of American Hospitals

18. Institute for Healthcare Improvement

19. Institute for Safe Medication Practices

20. Joint Commission Resources

21. Medical College of Wisconsin

22. Medical Group Management Association

23. National Association for Healthcare Quality

24. National Committee on Quality Assurance