LAKE FOREST, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hospira, a Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) company and a leading provider of infusion technologies, today announced the launch of the LifeCare PCA® 7.0 Infusion System.
As the first patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) infusion pump to offer electronic medical record (EMR) integration (also known as I.V.-EMR interoperability), LifeCare PCA 7.0 is a next-generation infusion system. It enables device auto-programming and streamlines documentation of infusion data to help improve the safety and efficiency of pain management medication administration.
It's the first and only PCA pump with integrated bar code identification of prefilled and pharmacy-filled drug vials, substantially eliminating the potential for drug and concentration errors at the bedside. Medication errors affect 1.5 million people and cost $21 billion annually, and the EMR integration and bar-code technology help give health care providers confidence that the right drug is being administered to the patient at the right dose and in the right concentration.1,2
The LifeCare PCA 7.0 system has been granted clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with enhanced cybersecurity protections. It features new security options, which include:
- Hospital-configured device passwords and enhanced protection of customer network security settings, helping to prevent unauthorized access.
- Automatic detection and closure of unused network communications ports, limiting remote access points to the device and network.
- Updated communications engine technology, including removal of telnet service, thereby eliminating remote administrator, or root access, to the pump.
Additionally, through Hospira MedNet v6.1 next-generation safety software, LifeCare PCA 7.0 includes new alarm-forwarding functionality.
In support of Hospira's global device strategy to deliver new technologies, this marks the fourth Hospira infusion system product launch in the last 24 months. The new LifeCare PCA 7.0 device debuted this week at the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition in New Orleans.
"Hospira is proud to deliver the first PCA smart pump that can integrate directly with the EMR," said Julie Sawyer Montgomery, president, U.S. Infusion Systems, Hospira. "With the new integration capabilities and enhanced cybersecurity features, the clearance of LifeCare PCA 7.0 ushers in a new phase in IV-EMR connectivity and pain management therapy. It also underscores Hospira's leadership in delivering technology to meet the evolving needs of health care providers in medication error prevention and clinician efficiency."
For Pennsylvania-based Lancaster General Health -- a pioneer in infusion pump integration --integrating the LifeCare PCA 7.0 to the hospital EMR is the next evolution in their medication safety platform.
"Because the LifeCare PCA 7.0 system allows integration to the order in the EMR, it will help us minimize risk associated with a nurse or clinician manually programming an infusion pump," said Tina Suess, MHA, BSN, RN-BC, CPHIMS, manager, Medication Safety Integration, Lancaster General Health.
Michael Ripchinski, MD, MBA, Chief Quality and Medical Information Officer, Lancaster General Health, also remarked, "It also enables improvement in the safety of administering high-risk narcotics. Improvements in the safety and efficacy of pain management have become a critical issue for institutions across the country. Integrating the LifeCare PCA 7.0 to the EMR increases transparency for clinicians, especially when changing patients from intravenous to oral medications."
The new LifeCare PCA 7.0 device is available for customers to order. Launching the first hospital PCA device in the industry more than 30 years ago, Hospira revolutionized pain management therapy as a PCA technology innovator.3 According to the KLAS report, "Smart Pump/EMR Integration," the company has implemented integrated EMR technology at more hospitals than all other infusion pump providers combined, and with more major EMR platforms than any other company.4
About Hospira
Hospira, a Pfizer company, is a leading provider of infusion technologies. The company's focused infusion systems portfolio features I.V. solutions, proven, innovative smart pumps, and pain management and safety software technology designed to help meet clinical, safety and workflow goals. Learn more at www.hospira.com.
Pfizer Inc.; Working together for a healthier world®
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DISCLOSURE NOTICE: The information contained in this release is as of May 19, 2016. Pfizer assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this release as the result of new information or future events or developments.
This release contains forward-looking information regarding Hospira’s LifeCare PCA 7.0 Infusion System, including its potential benefits, that involves substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, uncertainties regarding the commercial impact of LifeCare PCA 7.0 Infusion System; uncertainties regarding regulatory approvals in any other jurisdictions to market the LifeCare PCA 7.0 Infusion System may be received; and competitive developments.
A further description of risks and uncertainties can be found in Pfizer’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 and in its subsequent reports on Form 10-Q, including in the sections thereof captioned “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Information and Factors That May Affect Future Results,” as well as in its subsequent reports on Form 8-K, all of which are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov and www.pfizer.com.
1 Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Preventing Medication Errors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2007. Available at www.nap.edu
2 National Priorities Partnership and National Quality Forum. Preventing Medication Errors: A $21 Billion Opportunity. Washington, DC; December 2010. Available at www.psnet.ahrq.gov
3 Frazier, S. R. Patient Controlled Analgesia: More than twenty-five years in the making" Where are we now? ASPMN 19th National Conference, September 15, 2009
4 Hess P. Smart Pump/EMR Integration -- What Are My Best Options? May 2015 Performance Report, pages 2,8. Available at www.klasresearch.com
