Albert Einstein Medical Center Receives Patient Safety Award from Delaware Valley Healthcare Council

Philadelphia, PA, November 30, 2004 - Albert Einstein Medical Center was recently honored with the Delaware Valley Medication Safety Award by the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council. The award recognizes innovative approaches for improving medication safety and for developing projects that can be implemented by other hospitals.

Einstein received the award for being the first hospital in the region to initiate the use of "smart" pumps -- computerized  IV (intravenous) pumps that deliver high-alert medication and help prevent medication errors.  High-alert medications have the greatest potential for causing a devastating effect if an incorrect dosage is given. The pumps have "guardrails" -- information programmed into the software on the minimum and maximum dosage allowed for each drug.  The guardrails also include the rate at which each drug should be administered as well as the standard mixing concentrations.  If a nurse attempts to give a dosage that is not within the allowed parameters, the IV pump beeps as a signal to re-check the dosage.  The "guardrails" were customized based on many years of experience of Einstein clinicians. 

"We have 400 "smart" pumps in use in our critical care units, emergency department, operating rooms, and medical surgical units, that allow us to double-check the delivery of these medications," says Deborah Hauser, RPh, BA, Director of Pharmacy at Albert Einstein Medical Center. "We're really glad to have this additional safeguard and our data shows that the technology has been extremely effective in helping prevent medication errors."   The pumps were initially used at Einstein's main campus located at 5501 Old York Road and expanded to other Einstein campuses, including Germantown Community Health Services and Einstein at Elkins Park.   

Twenty hospitals in the Philadelphia region submitted proposals for the Medication Safety Award.  Albert Einstein shared the $5,000 cash prize with Northeastern Hospital of Temple University Health System for the medication safety program they instituted.  

Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, a member of the Jefferson Health System, provides healthcare services through Albert Einstein Medical Center, Germantown Community Health Services, Willow Terrace (a nursing home), Einstein at Elkins Park, MossRehab, Willowcrest (a center for subacute care), Belmont Behavioral Health and a number of outpatient and satellite locations.  Einstein also operates a primary care network, Einstein Neighborhood Healthcare.  For more information, visit www.einstein.edu or call 1-800-EINSTEIN.

Publish date: November 30, 2004