3/21/2014
Hospital pharmacies that use the RIVA IV compounding robot can now add another potential deterrent to human errors that may slip into the pharmacy process.
The Codonics Safe Label System (SLS) has been configured for operation in conjunction with the RIVA robot (Intelligent Hospital [IH] Systems). It produces color-coded, bar-coded labels for anesthesia drugs headed to the operating room (OR) and ICU. The labels comply with Joint Commission requirements and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) guidelines, according to Codonics and IH Systems.
Although most often used currently by anesthesia providers preparing anesthesia medications in the OR suite, the system can be used anywhere medications are prepared, the companies said, adding that the SLS costs about $8,000 for a typical hospital installation.
RIVA produces syringes and IV medications in an aseptic environment and applies only black-and-white bar-coded labels. The SLS is capable of scanning those labels to produce color-coded labels. Pairing the two systems permits labeling for batch processing of prefilled anesthesia drugs and potentially reduces reliance on third-party drug preparation.
“A lot of safeties are already built into the RIVA process,” said Thom Doherty, the chief technology officer at IH Systems. “To then add a step that relies on a human to read and apply the right label adds another risk into the mix. The Codonics system takes away some of the potential for errors.”
“The main reason to look at this system is safety and compliance, for simplifying workflow, and as a way to save money. Purchasing commercially prepared prefills is convenient, but costly,” said Cristy Berg, the vice president of communications with Codonics.