Game-changing Drug Labelling Safety Solution Launches in Australia

The Codonics award-winning Safe Label System helps anaesthesia clinicians prevent medication errors in fast-paced environments like operating theatres.  Studies show there is one drug administration medication error for every 133 anaesthetics delivered, and one in 250 of those errors is fatal¹.

The Codonics Safe Label System (SLS), as supplied by Imaging Solutions in Australia and New Zealand, is a simple yet standardized approach to proper drug preparation and ‘smart’ medication labelling that ensures the right dose is prepared in compliance with drug expiration timelines to provide the type of accountability demanded by modern-day healthcare professionals.  Bringing all of the best practices for medication safety together to help ensure improved patient care, SLS is a game-changing device that has helped prevent hundreds of thousands of medication errors.

The standard of care in more than 700 of the world’s leading hospitals, Safe Label System reads vial and ampoule barcodes during medication preparation to help prevent human error. A quick scan of a medication’s barcode provides the clinician with visual and audible confirmation of the drug in hand, acting as a second set of eyes. As the medication is drawn into the syringe, a full-colour easy-to-read label is presented. Every label includes the drug name, concentration, diluent and dilution (if required), the date and time of preparation, the date and time of expiration, the preparer’s initials, any warnings about the drug and a barcode. With the label applied to the prepared syringe, it can be scanned again as a ‘triple check’ to not only announce and display the medication and concentration but also display the time remaining before the medication will expire prior to administration to the patient.

Glenn Honey, Imaging Solutions’ CEO, said, “Safe Label System is a simple yet revolutionary way to help ensure patients stay safe in operating theatres. Many US, Asia, Latin American and Middle East hospitals have been using these systems for years along with several noteworthy sites in Europe.  Australia and New Zealand have been behind the curve of adopting this technology because we don’t yet have a standardised national barcode system for drugs. Implementing such legislation would streamline some of the most critical parts of surgery and ensure Australian patient safety in a high pressure, high-stress environment where even the most experienced surgeons can still make human errors.”

Tim Jablonski, Vice President of International Sales & Marketing stated, “SLS is a first-of-its-kind, medication safety solution that is truly saving lives by making operating room drug labelling fast, consistent and safe. We are humbled by the opportunity to impact thousands of lives in Australia as we move forward on our mission to improve patient safety with Imaging Solutions and BD, both long-term partners of Codonics.”

To date, Safe Label System has been used in more than 36.5 million procedures and over 146 million drug preparations helping to prevent over 1.1 million medication errors across 17 countries.

Codonics Safe Label System meets the Anaesthesia Patient Safety Foundation’s (APSF) guidelines for technology: “Every anesthetizing location should have a mechanism to identify medications before drawing up or administering them (bar code reader) and a mechanism to provide feedback, decision support and documentation (automated information systems).” It’s also backed by a myriad of whitepapers and research publications.

“We’re excited to launch this lifesaving product here in Australia,” Mr Honey said, “and we’re looking forward to starting the legislative push for standardised barcodes across the country so we can further rollout patient safety tools that have proven effective overseas.”

About Imaging Solutions

Imaging Solutions Pty Ltd is a specialist supplier of superior medical imaging and general healthcare products in Australian, New Zealand, and South-East Asian markets. Our extensive product portfolio is built around products and brands that are world leaders in their respective categories.

The company’s strategic and operational objective is to be the healthcare industry’s supplier of choice. Our critical point of difference is our single source supplier formula that allows us to deliver outstanding value and unrivalled convenience to our customers.

Energy, integrity, loyalty, growth, and teamwork are the foundation of the company’s core values and culture. At Imaging Solutions, minds are open, new ideas welcome, teamwork paramount, and we’re all driven forward by the company culture.

About Codonics Inc.

Codonics is a global business, providing healthcare with some of the most advanced patient safety and medical imaging products in the world from its headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. Since 1982, Codonics has experienced exciting growth and award-winning achievements. Today, the company is represented in 110 countries with more than 50,000 product installations in renowned, cutting-edge medical facilities throughout the world. Codonics commitment to providing innovative products and market-leading solutions is changing the face of healthcare. Driven by a passion to engineer products that improve medication safety so significantly they are recognized as a standard of care throughout the world, Codonics extraordinary team of employees is highly enthusiastic and ultra-focused on improving patient outcomes.  To learn more about Codonics, visit www.codonics.com.

¹Based on Merry AF, Peck DJ. Anaesthetists, Errors in Drug Administration and the Law. N Z Med J. 1995; 24:185-187.