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 25. National
Consumers League 26. National Health Council 27. Patient Safety Officers Society
28. PhRMA 29. Physician Insurers Association of America 30. Premier Inc. 31. USP
Center for the Advancement of Patient Safety 32. Veterans Health Administration
National Center for Patient Safety 33. VHA Inc.
"We are also very grateful to this year's Congress sponsors who have helped make
this important conference possible," added Edgman-Levitan, who is executive
director of the John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care at Massachusetts
General Hospital in Boston. Sponsors include Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Foundation, Aon Healthcare Alliance, CIGNA HealthCare, Delmarva, Fairview Health
System, GOAL/QPC, Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser Permanente Foundation and the
UnitedHealth Foundation.
Congress CE credits
Healthcare administrators, nurses, pharmacists, physicians and social workers
who attend the Congress can earn a total of 14.5 hours of continuing education
credits through the American College of Healthcare Executives, the California
Board of Registered Nursing and the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences. See
http://www.mederrors.org/certification.html for details.
About NPSF
The National Patient Safety Foundation was founded in 1996 by the American
Medical Association, CNA HealthPro, 3M and contributions from the
Schering-Plough Corp. An independent, nonprofit research and education
organization, NPSF is an unprecedented partnership of healthcare practitioners,
institutional providers, health product providers, health product manufacturers,
researchers, legal advisors, patient/consumer advocates, regulators and
policymakers committed to making healthcare safer for patients. Through
leadership, research support and education, the NPSF is committed to making
patient safety a national priority.
The NPSF Web site offers a variety of educational tools to help hospitals build
partnerships with patients in their communities, and both teach and encourage
patients to become more involved in their own health care.
NPSF's "Stand Up for Patient Safety" campaign helps hospitals and health systems
both observe National Patient Safety Awareness Week and mobilize to take
concerted action to reduce medical errors.
On the Net: NPSF site: http://www.npsf.org On the Net: Congress site:
http://www.mederrors.org/program.html About Bridge
Bridge Medical Inc. -- an AmerisourceBergen company (NYSE:ABC) -- is
headquartered in Solana Beach, Calif., and has been educating healthcare
professionals about medication errors and their prevention since the company was
founded in 1996.
AmerisourceBergen is based in Valley Forge, Penn. On the Net: Bridge Medical
site: http://www.bridgemedical.com
CONTACT: Bridge Medical
Carol Somer, 858/314-5538, Cell 858/204-7424
csomer@bridgemedical.com
or
NPSF
Carole Breckbill, 312/464-5672
cbreckbill@npsf.org
or
Carol Lieser, 760/770-0288, Cell 760/578-5756
clieser@npsf.org