DSS and Hospira Win Veterans Affairs Industry Innovation Award for TheraDoc™ Clinical Surveillance System

LAKE FOREST, Ill., May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Hospira (NYSE: HSP), a leading provider of clinical information and medication delivery technologies, today announced that Hospira and DSS, Inc., are the recipients of an Industry Innovation Award from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for Hospira's TheraDoc™ clinical surveillance system. As a result, DSS, Inc., a healthcare information technology provider, will partner with the VA and Hospira to implement the TheraDoc software as a pilot project at several VA medical centers. The pilot is among only one percent of ideas selected from more than 10,000 submitted to date through the VA Innovation Initiative.

The pilot program will focus on using TheraDoc clinical surveillance technology to help identify and decrease the impact of adverse drug events (ADEs). Using DSS technology, the TheraDoc software interfaces with the VA's proprietary electronic health record to receive the appropriate data to identify, analyze and report ADEs in the TheraDoc system. TheraDoc software is currently in use at seven VA medical centers for a broad range of patient safety applications including: infection control, antimicrobial stewardship and ADE reduction.

Adverse drug events are linked to increased morbidity and mortality, and have a substantial negative impact on healthcare institutions and society. For example, (1)(2)

• more than 770,000 people are injured or killed annually in hospitals from ADEs,
• ADEs cost as high as $5.6 million per hospital each year, and
• ADEs cost up to $5.6 billion annually in the United States.

"Hospira is honored to receive this award and be a part of a program focused on improving patient safety and the quality of care we provide to our veterans," said France Pitera, vice president, Clinical Information Technology, Hospira. "Through this clinical surveillance system pilot program, these hospitals will have additional tools to support ADE reduction and be able to evaluate technologies that could possibly be implemented across VA medical centers nationwide."

About the TheraDoc Clinical Surveillance System

The TheraDoc clinical surveillance system is actively used in more than 300 U.S. hospitals, making critical patient information and medical knowledge readily available to help clinicians intervene quickly, prescribe appropriately and improve the quality of patient care, as well as facilitate reporting of healthcare-acquired infections via the National Healthcare Safety Network. The TheraDoc Clinical Intelligence™ platform is the engine that powers several knowledge modules, including the Infection Control Assistant™, Antibiotic Assistant™, ADE Assistant™, Clinical Alerts Assistant™ and Anticoagulation Assistant™. For more information about TheraDoc, visit http://www.theradoc.com or call (801) 415-4400.  

About DSS

DSS, Inc. develops and supplies integrated enhancements to the Veterans Affairs VistA system and specializes in healthcare IT solutions that improve quality and productivity. The organization also designs applications that are compatible with the Indian Health Services RPMS and the Department of Defense's healthcare systems.

vxVistA is DSS' open source version of VistA that has been enhanced to meet the needs of non-VA users. The company also offers add-on products including behavioral health, clinical decision support, dental electronic records, document imaging and revenue cycle solutions. To foster the adoption of open source in healthcare organizations, DSS is a founder and supporter of a community-driven, collaboration environment Web site, www.vxVistA.org that acts as a forum for discussion and best practices among worldwide vxVistA and VistA EHR users. For more information on DSS, Inc., visit www.dssinc.com.

About Hospira

Hospira, Inc., is a global specialty pharmaceutical and medication delivery company dedicated to Advancing Wellness^™.  As the world leader in specialty generic injectable pharmaceuticals, Hospira offers one of the broadest portfolios of generic acute-care and oncology injectables, as well as integrated infusion therapy and medication management solutions. Through its products, Hospira helps improve the safety, cost, and productivity of patient care. The company is headquartered in Lake Forest, Ill., and has approximately 14,000 employees.  Learn more at http://www.hospira.com.

(1) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. March 2001. Reducing and Preventing Adverse Drug Events To Decrease Hospital Costs. Research in Action, Issue 1. http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/aderia/aderia.htm, Accessed May 11, 2011

(2) Bates et al. "The costs of adverse drug events in hospitalized patients." JAMA. 1997; 277:307-311

SOURCE Hospira