Reducing Medication Errors using an iPod Touch #HIMSS11

PatientSafe Solutions Announces General Availability Of PatientTouch™

Connected Patient Care Application Connects Care Teams and Streamlines Processes in Real-Time to Improve Nursing Workflow, Reduce Preventable Errors and Improve Quality Metrics

Orlando, Fla. – February 21, 2011 – PatientSafe Solutions, a provider of clinical mobility solutions to hospitals, today announced that its PatientTouch™ connected patient care application designed exclusively for the Apple iPod Touch® has completed beta testing and is now widely available to hospital nurses and caregivers. PatientTouch connects the patient’s healthcare information in one accessible, organized and familiar wireless device at the bedside and enables care providers to efficiently deliver quality care while reducing the potential of clinical errors.



“We use PatientTouch to enable our nurses to immediately close the medication administration loop at the bedside,” said Tarun Ghosh, senior vice president and chief information officer of Fremont-Rideout Health Group, Yuba City, Calif. “By doing so, we are not only reducing medical errors and improving medication reconciliation, we are also increasing our productivity and reducing costs while working towards key milestones required to meet Stage 1of Meaningful Use.”

PatientTouch was designed with features and functionality that map directly to clinical workflows and hospital best practices and policies and procedures. The application provides caregivers at 88 hospitals nationwide with real-time documentation, wireless mobility, alerts and reminders, clinically useful reporting and connections with members of their care team. Additionally, the system integrates directly with any enterprise system that is HL7 compliant, PatientTouch allows hospitals to reinforce evidence-based practices and advance organizational goals for achieving meaningful use. The mobile handheld’s custom jacket is outfitted with a barcode scanner as well as an extended battery to ensure that the mobile device is fully operational throughout a nursing shift.
In addition to the application’s core features and functionalities, PatientTouch includes two modules to further enhance caregivers’ abilities to deliver high quality patient care:


* Medication Administration – featuring 5 rights checking, real-time documentation, connection to medication administration record, pharmacy information systems and electronic medical record/ clinical information system; sophisticated clinical workflows such as dosing support, alerts and situation-specific clinical observations



* Nursing Interventions – featuring point-of-care vitals, assessments, safety best practices, real-time documentation and evidenced based best practices


“PatientTouch goes far beyond just clinical documentation at the bedside to truly enable caregivers to deliver high quality patient care, reduce medical errors and spend more time actively engaging with patients and their families,” said Jim Sweeney, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PatientSafe Solutions. “Over 7,700 nurses and caregivers utilize PatientTouch instead of relying on manual documentation or computer carts or nurses’ stations to improve their productivity and save costs.

PatientTouch is currently available to hospitals in the United States exclusively through PatientSafe Solutions by calling 858-746-3100 or visiting www.patientsafesolutions.com.

About PatientSafe Solutions
PatientSafe Solutions delivers clinical mobility solutions to hospitals that improve caregiver productivity, patient safety, and quality at the point of care. The company has designed and developed PatientTouch™ for the Apple iPod Touch®, transforming the delivery of patient care by connecting care teams and processes in real-time.

PatientTouch™ delivers clinically rich medication administration, clinical documentation, and communication features in an elegant and functional handheld solution. By connecting caregivers to hospital core systems and processes, PatientTouch enables caregivers to effectively reduce preventable errors and improve key quality metrics, while enhancing documentation timeliness, accuracy, and process compliance.

HIMSS11 coverage is sponsored by HP and Practice Fusion. HP’s extensive portfolio of products, solutions, services and relationships can help your healthcare organization achieve quality business practices and provide quality patient care. Practice Fusion's free EHR is the fastest growing Electronic Health Records (EHR) system in the US.