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Wake Forest University
Baptist Medical Center to Automate IV Preparation with ForHealth’s
IntelliFill i.v.
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA –
June 13, 2007 – ForHealth
Technologies Inc., makers of IntelliFill i.v.™, a high-speed
robotic system for the preparation of IV medications in syringes,
announced today that Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
has purchased its IV robotic technology to automate a significant
portion of their pharmacy’s IV preparation processes. The
hospital plans to integrate IntelliFill i.v.’s barcoded syringes
with their barcode medication administration (BCMA) system once
IntelliFill i.v. is fully implemented. Wake Forest University Baptist
Medical Center is currently using their BCMA system throughout the
entire hospital.
“We are committed to continuous quality improvement of our
medication use processes. A key component of our strategy is to
implement automation and other technologies wherever it makes the
most sense from both the safety and economic perspectives,”
said Beth Williams, PharmD, director of pharmacy, Wake Forest University
Baptist Medical Center. “Upon performing a gap analysis of
our entire process, we felt strongly that IntelliFill i.v. would
fill a major gap in our IV preparation process. Our decision was
ultimately driven by IntelliFill’s combination of outstanding
quality and safety features, as well as our financial projections
of saving several hundred thousands of dollars in drug costs per
year.”
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center plans to use IntelliFill
i.v. syringes in numerous areas of the hospital for both adult and
pediatric care. Williams said a steering committee had been formed
and the group will determine in which specific areas to pilot and
eventually roll out the system. She said they plan to use the system
in both batch and patient-specific modes of operation.
“In addition to providing these areas with barcoded syringes
and helping us reduce drug costs, IntelliFill i.v. will help us
to eliminate the possibility of touch contamination and to reallocate
pharmacy technician labor,” said Williams. “We also
expect to reduce waste by implementing just-in-time IV dose preparation.”
“We are delighted to gain the support of Wake Forest University
Baptist Medical Center,” said Steve Thomas, CEO of ForHealth
Technologies. “One of the reasons why they are one of ‘America’s
Best Hospitals’ is because they have vision and are willing
to deploy best-in-class systems like IntelliFill to improve their
medication use process. We love partnering with customers who pursue
improving quality and safety while taking costs out of their system
at the same time by embracing IntelliFill.”
About Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Wake Forest Baptist is an academic health system comprised of North
Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences,
which operates the university’s School of Medicine. The system
comprises 1,154 acute care, psychiatric, rehabilitation and long-term
care beds and is consistently ranked as one of “America’s
Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report. For more
information, please visit www.wfubmc.edu.
About ForHealth Technologies Inc.
Founded in 1998, ForHealth Technologies, Inc., a leader in automation
technology for intravenous drug preparation, is committed to increasing
patient safety and decreasing operating costs by automating the
preparation of small-volume injectable medications in healthcare
organizations worldwide. Offering safety, accuracy, efficiency and
reliability, its robotic technology, IntelliFill i.v., automates
the preparation of IV syringes, greatly enhancing both the safety
of patients and the efficiency of hospital pharmacies with approximately
18 million doses prepared in hospital environments. For more information,
please visit www.fhtinc.com.
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