‘Smart' System Prevents Blood and Drug Transfusion Errors

In the United States alone, there are over 500 million intravenous infusions a year in US hospitals, the home therapy sector, nursing homes, and hemodialysis centers. As mistakes in intravenous (IV) administration account for 35-40% of all medical errors during hospitalization, the annual cost for these exceed U.S. $17 billion.

The product, PRIDE (Prevent Intravenous Drug Errors), consists of a low-cost, disposable 'smart valve,' an electronic handheld device, and a software program. The handheld device--supported by the system's communication software--opens the valve only after the patient and medication have been verified and matched electronically. It is impossible to bluff the system, which requires bar codes for all patients and medications (which fits in nicely with a new mandatory regulation in the United States requiring all patients and medications to have a bar code).

The nurse or caretaker uses the hand-held device to scan a bar code with the patient's identity, to access the electronic medical order, and to scan the bar code of the solution in the bag.

Using PRIDE transfusions, infusions or drugs cannot be administered to the patient unless five "right” conditions are met: "It has to be the right patient; the right drug; the right dose; the right time; and the right route of administration,” said Dr. Pierre Sharvit, one of the founders and the CEO of Pro-IV Medical (Misgav, Israel), the company that developed PRIDE.


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Pro-IV Medical