Siemens Provides Powerful Link to Support Medication Safety
Posted on: Tuesday, 13 February 2007, 09:04 CST
Supporting the need for accurate medication histories at the point of care, Siemens Medical Solutions (www.usa.siemens.com/healthcareit) announces the general availability of INVISION® MedsConnect, a clinical data content subscription service that provides clinicians with access to up to 12 months of patients' prescription histories upon admission to an inpatient acute care facility or during emergency room registration. INVISION MedsConnect supports the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) National Patient Safety Goal for medication reconciliation while helping to streamline clinical efficiencies and improve patient safety throughout the enterprise. INVISION MedsConnect provides clinicians with a window into a patient's home prescription history and a starting point to obtain a complete medication history.
"An incomplete account of a patient's prescribed medications can affect the patient's care and the hospital's compliance with protocols and regulations," said Janet Dillione, president, Healthcare IT Division, Siemens Medical Solutions. "With INVISION MedsConnect, we are bringing information on patients' prescription medication histories to the clinicians who need it, when they need it -- not only helping to prevent drug duplication and adverse events, but improving intake efficiency and compliance with industry-mandated medication reconciliation and patient safety protocols."
Because this service is integrated with Siemens INVISION health information system (HIS), INVISION MedsConnect makes it possible for information on the patient's prescribed medications -- what the patient has been prescribed, when, and in what dose -- to travel with the patient throughout the care continuum, providing a valuable information resource that empowers clinicians to make more informed patient assessments, prescribing decisions, and treatment recommendations. Using RxHub MEDSSM, INVISION MedsConnect is electronically available during clinicians' workflow and provides seamless access to outpatient prescription history of more than 180 million covered lives in the United States. RxHub is an electronic interchange company that represents the largest Pharmacy Benefit Managers and payers which together process 3.3 million transactions per month. RxHub provides the necessary clinical decision support information including patient eligibility, formulary, and medication history at the point-of-care through certified, secured networks, in addition to providing the ability to route prescriptions electronically to retail and mail order pharmacies.
"One of the most challenging aspects of improving medication safety is ensuring that the patient's medication profile is as complete and accurate as possible," said Becki Weber, chief information officer, Meridian Health, a four-hospital health system in New Jersey and a beta site for INVISION MedsConnect. "Meridian believes there is tremendous value in enabling clinicians to access patient retail prescription data at the point of care. Having access to this information can improve the quality of care we are able to provide to our patients and is a needed link in the development of a full electronic health record (EHR). We are excited that Siemens is working to bridge this gap."
About Siemens Medical Solutions
Siemens Medical Solutions of Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry. The company is known for bringing together innovative medical technologies, healthcare information systems, management consulting, and support services, to help customers achieve tangible, sustainable, clinical and financial outcomes. Recent acquisitions in the area of in-vitro diagnostics -- such as Diagnostic Products Corporation and Bayer Diagnostics -- mark a significant milestone for Siemens as it becomes the first full service diagnostics company. Employing more than 41,000 people worldwide and operating in over 130 countries, Siemens Medical Solutions reported sales of 8.23 billion EUR, orders of 9.33 billion EUR and group profit of 1.06 billion EUR for fiscal 2006 (Sept. 30). Further information can be found by visiting www.siemens.com/medical.
Source: Business Wire
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