PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 2, 2002

Contact: Leslie Bayer, 913.403.5425

MISSION, KS--Michael E. Coughlin, President and CEO of ScriptPro, presented a pharmacy industry perspective on the importance of barcodes on drug products and related medical supplies at a recent Food and Drug Administration hearing on this matter (July 26, 2002; Docket No. 02N-0204).

The hearing was held in response to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) 1999 report “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System.” The research stated that there are an estimated 100,000 deaths in the United States every year from preventable medical errors, and approximately 30 to 50 percent are associated with errors involving FDA regulated medical products, including drug dispensing errors. The Secretary of Health and Human Services directed the FDA to explore possible regulatory approaches to reduce these preventable errors.

ScriptPro, developer and manufacturer of robotic prescription dispensing systems, has analyzed drug dispensing errors in community and ambulatory pharmacies to determine how automation can be applied to prevent such errors. The company has been engaged for some time in funding independent research to study ways to minimize dispensing errors. Some of these studies are soon to be published.

The most basic dispensing errors are: prescription filled with wrong drug, prescription filled with wrong strength, or wrong prescription label. An insurance company has reported that more than 80% of the claims against pharmacists in the community and ambulatory practice settings arise from these basic mistakes, which are highly preventable.

Errors related to drug dispensing and use can be minimized through systems that operate in conjunction with improved barcodes on drug products and related medical supplies. Coughlin's report outlines problems with the current drug numbering and bar coding system in the U.S. It provides examples of how these problems cause errors and makes the following recommendations for improvement :

A. The system for numbering drug products should be fixed, so that the FDA, manufacturers, repackagers, database developers, pharmacists, patients and other interested parties can all reference a drug using the same NDC number in a standard format.

B. The NDC number should be displayed in a standard format on stock bottles and packages for all dispensed drug products and prescribed medical supplies. It should also be displayed on these products in barcode form in a standard format, possibly within an enhanced UPC barcode.

C. The lot number and expiration date should be displayed on stock bottles and packages for all dispensed drug products and prescribed medical supplies. This information should also be included in barcode form, within the barcode containing the NDC number, in a standard format, possibly within an enhanced UPC barcode.

D. A new NDC (and barcode) should be assigned when the physical appearance of the drug or its package changes.

E. A separate NDC number (and barcode) should be assigned to each drug package that can be dispensed.

F. There should be only one barcode on a drug product or prescribed medical supply item. If the existing UPC barcode cannot be adapted to meet the needs of these products, a single unifying barcode standard should be adopted.

ScriptPro’s robotic dispensing technology uses barcode scanning throughout the dispensing process to ensure patient safety and promote efficiency in pharmacies. ScriptPro is a single source for dispensing technology, compatible with every pharmacy management system and appropriate to every practice setting—retail, hospital, managed care, and central fill. Coughlin says “We help improve patient care in pharmacies regardless of where they operate.”

ABOUT SCRIPTPRO: ScriptPro develops and provides state-of-the-art prescription fulfillment solutions for community, ambulatory, and managed care pharmacies. ScriptPro is dedicated to helping pharmacies lower operating costs, reduce dispensing errors and increase customer service. ScriptPro technology reduces manual dispensing tasks, allowing pharmacists to assume more active roles in health care management.

For more information about ScriptPro contact Leslie Bayer at 913.384.1008 or visit the web site at www.scriptpro.com.