Baxa Praises the UK’s NPSA Patient Safety Alert Advising Hospitals to Switch to Safer Oral/Enteral Syringes

Bracknell, UK, April 17, 2007 – “The UK’s National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) issued an important Alert on March 28 of this year identifying the need for hospitals to ensure adequate measures are put in place to minimise errors in the administration of liquid medication,” says Terry Aston, Managing Director of Baxa Ltd., Baxa Corporation’s UK subsidiary.  He continues, “Baxa praises the move by the NPSA as a significant step in eliminating patient safety incidents involving intravenous administration of oral liquid medications.”  Hospitals can comply with the Patient Safety Alert immediately using the Exacta-Med® Oral/Enteral Dispensers from Baxa Ltd.

According to the Alert, inadvertent IV administration of oral medications resulted in numerous patient safety incidents and three reported deaths (2001 to 2004).  The NPSA further proposes actions to minimise the risk of wrong-route errors – advocating the use of oral/enteral syringes for administering oral liquids that feature clear differentiation from those used for intravenous medication.

Useful links: 
http://www.baxa.com – background for Baxa Corporation
http://www.npsa.nhs.uk – latest news and information on NPSA
http://www.npsa.nhs.uk/display?contentId=5807 – details of the NPSA Alert and guidelines

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About Baxa Corporation

Privately held, Baxa Corporation has subsidiaries and sales offices in Canada and the United Kingdom; direct representation in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg and The Netherlands; and distribution partners worldwide.  Further information is available at http://www.baxa.com.

Here's an example of a news release in the 2002-04 national media relations campaign for Adventures in Color Technology. The campaign garnered a print circulation exposure of 1,730,748 and ad value equivalent of $10,710.73. Broadcast stories also appeared on the national E! Style Network and locally on WB2 and the 9News "Where in the Town is Gregg Moss?

January 13, 2003
For Immediate Release

Novelty contact lenses pose serious risks if not prescribed and and given proper fitting by a licensed eye care professional

Novelty contact lenses - from cat's eyes to sports team logos -- are the rage among teenagers these days, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning recently telling consumers about the serious risks of permanent eye injury from unprescribed, mass produced lenses found at flea markets, convenience stores and beach shops. The warning, issued October 21, 2002, is quoted in this release, along with Adventures In Color Technology CEO Stan Harper, a former president of the Contact Lens Society of America

(Golden, Colo.) - "I'm not sure why the FDA hadn't taken action earlier on this health issue," says Stan Harper, CEO of Adventures in Color Technology, in an October 27th interview with the Fredericksburg, VA, Free Lance-Star, "The real source of the trouble is sharing contacts. First Mary wants to try them on, and then the next person tries them on. They don't get disinfected."

According to the FDA's warning: "Decorative contact lenses present significant risks of blindness and other eye injury if they are distributed without a prescription or without proper fitting by a qualified eye care professional. FDA has received reports of corneal ulcer associated with wear of decorative contact lenses in excess of the recommended period. Corneal ulcer can progress rapidly, leading to internal ocular infection if left untreated.

Uncontrolled infection can lead to corneal scarring and vision impairment. In extreme cases, this condition can result in blindness and eye loss.

"Other risks associated with use of decorative contact lenses include conjunctivitis (an infection of the eye); corneal edema (swelling); allergic reaction; corneal abrasion from poor lens fit; and reduction in visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and other visual functions, resulting in interference with driving and other activities."

In addition to prosthetic/therapeutic applications, Harper's company creates custom contact lenses for theatrical use and custom novelty lenses for personal use. However, all of Adventures' lenses are individually prescribed, designed and fit under the direction of a licensed eye care practitioner.

According to the Fredericksburg paper, the biggest problem to overcome is that teens think the mass- produced, novelty contacts are cool. "I guess that falls in the same area as piercing your tongue or your nose," Harper said in the newspaper interview, "I think they want to appear different than the one next door. I think they want to be a little bit outstanding."

Adventures In Color Technology, Ltd., serves eye care practitioners both in private practice and at teaching hospitals and universities throughout the world, developing colors and patterns for patients and continuing research for other retinal problems. The company's headquarters is located in Golden, Colo.   Harper may be reached at 303-271-9644 or toll-free at 1-800-537-2845.

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The 2002-2004 national media relations campaign for Adventures In Color Technology resulted in placements in the following media outlets: Fredericksburg (VA) Free Lance-Star, Oshkosh (WI) Northwestern, Denver Business Journal, The Courier-Journal (KY/IN), Golden (CO) Transcript, The News-Herald (Southgate, MI), Chicago Tribune, Staten Island Advance (NY), Burlington County Times (NJ), Cleveland (TN) Daily Banner, Press Enterprise (Riverside, CA), WB2 TV News Denver, KUSA TV 9News (Where in the town is Gregg Moss?), and E! Style Network segment.

Circulation reach: 1,739,748
Ad Value Equivalent: $10,710.73
Estimated National Television Viewing Audience: 33 million

In 2003-04, another Absolutely PR national media awareness campaign for a pain management client resulted in placements in the following media outlets: Frontdoors Magazine (Phoenix), Washington Times, Veterinary Practice News, Denver Business Journal, Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients, Inc. Magazine, Dental Products Report, Woman’s World, Rocky Mountain News, Detroit News, Draft Horse Journal, Bridle and Bit, WB2 News Denver, KTVK-TV Phoenix (two segments), and KUSA 9News Gregg Moss gadget segment.

Circulation reach: 3,205,229
Ad Value Equivalent: $47,514.57

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