Digital Hospital, Inc.

Forces best practices- for the nurse- when using our device, the nurse draws the insulin in the med room where they are supposed to. The nurse has to do it right in order to receive the bar coded label needed to document administration. This protects both the patient and the nurse. Saves money by reducing the amount of insulin purchased. The cost of insulin has increased 500% in the past 5 years.(Click here for article reference at www.digitalhospitalinc.com) It has the potential to reduce liability lawsuits when a nurse accidentally administers the incorrect medication(See our website for the Saltwater case study).

<p>According to a recently published study, as many as 440,000 medical errors result in death in U.S. hospitals every year. 35% of these errors are due to medications. Insulin is the most common cause of medication-related patient harm, being implicated in 33% of medication error related events, including dosing errors causing hypo or hyperglycemia resulting in prolonged length of stay, morbidity and mortality. Deadly medical mistakes can stem from many issues, including labels that look alike or sound alike; incorrect preparation of an injectable dose by mixing up mL&#39;s and units; or simply giving a dose to the wrong patient in a two-bed room. Nurses are busy and often understaffed.The problem is that there is not currently an effective way to verify the type and amount of insulin administered in a hospital setting, nor is there a way to verify that the medication is administered to the correct patient. This leaves patient safety too vulnerable to human error. We save the hospitals money on insulin costs and lawsuits. Insulin costs have risen 500%. The good news is that hospitals have invested heavily in their Electronic Health Records (EHR), which can significantly improve patient safety. For example, for most medications, EHR&rsquo;s verify the prescribed drug and the dose is administered to the correct patient by matching the doctor&rsquo;s order in the EHR with the bar code printed on the medication package. When the nurse scans the correct drug and dose for the correct patient, she or he receives confirmation the drug is safe to administer. Scanning the medication also automatically documents administration in the EHR. However, insulin remains a significant exception to this important safety feature. To address this risk, many hospitals use a double check system, but according to the Institute for Safe Medication Practice (ISMP), &ldquo;It&rsquo;s inconsistent use and variability in how the task is carried out has rendered it incapable of detecting many errors.&rdquo;</p>

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