"Raising the Bar" in Patient Safety

Online, July 21, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Corpus Christi Medical Center is "Raising the Bar" to improve the safety of patients. By implementing a new system - the Bar Code-enabled Transfusion Administration (BCTA), clinicians will be able to scan the existing patient ID band and the bar code on blood products to ensure that the correct blood product is being administered to the correct patient. "As the community's blood supplier, the Coastal Bend Blood Center applauds any and all efforts of our partnering medical centers in the goal to create the safest blood supply possible for the Coastal Bend," said Breanna Rye, Marketing/Donor Development at the Coastal Bend Blood Center.

In addition to the new BCTA System, Corpus Christi Medical Center deployed the electronic Medication Administration Record (eMar) and Bar coding System in 2003 to prevent patient medication errors. eMar, a multimillion dollar patient safety technology system, has been implemented in all HCA facilities across the country. The BCTA and eMar systems utilize information technology paired with item-specific identification (Bar Coding), enabling clinicians to administer and track both medications and blood products.

"Patient safety is, and always has been, our highest priority at Corpus Christi Medical Center. Just as we have essential safety measures for the administration of medications through the eMar system, the new BCTA system is a vital addition in the care and safety of our patients who need blood products," said Kathleen Rubano, Chief Nursing Officer at Corpus Christi Medical Center.