CareFusion To Provide Pyxis® Point-of-Care Products To Veterans Affairs Hospitals Nationwide

Main Category: Veterans / Ex-Servicemen
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics;  Medical Practice Management
Article Date: 07 Dec 2010 - 4:00 PDT


CareFusion (NYSE: CFN), a leading, global medical device company, announced the award of the Pyxis® point-of-care verification suite of products across 153 U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) medical centers and 17 outpatient centers.

The VA is already one of the largest users of barcode medication administration technology and this agreement expands and upgrades their existing technology. The contract is one of the largest in the history of CareFusion's Pyxis point-of-care verification product line.

CareFusion will provide the VA with a suite of positive patient identification products to help reduce the potential for errors during specimen collection and blood transfusion. The Pyxis® Specimen Collection Verification system focuses on ensuring clinicians correctly label and collect a patient's lab specimens and the Pyxis® Transfusion Verification system ensures the appropriate blood product is transfused to the right patient at the right time.

The agreement also extends existing bar code technology for medication administration using a portable wireless platform, allowing clinicians to verify medication orders and view safety alerts and allergy warnings on a handheld device at the patient's bedside.

"By expanding the use of bar coding technology, the VA will continue to help America's veterans receive the best medical care possible," said Tom Leonard, president of Dispensing Technologies at CareFusion. "CareFusion is a leader in developing innovative solutions to enhance patient care and safety."

CareFusion plans to expand its specimen verification product line to include both clinical and anatomical pathology, which will help decrease patient/specimen mismatch and specimen mislabeling at the point of collection, as well as help with diagnosis of disease based on examination of organs, tissues and whole bodies. This product is currently under development and not commercially available.

The contract with the VA is through an agreement with MicroTech, a leading technology systems integrator.

Source: CareFusion Corporation

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