FDA statistics indicate that more than one person per day dies in the US as a result of a medication error. Whether the prescription error is giving the wrong dose of a medication or giving the wrong drug entirely, the results can be equally lethal. ValiMed is a new tool developed by the CDEX corporation in Kansas City to prevent just such errors. The machine works by shining an ultraviolet light on the drug, then reading the fluorescent glow given off by the drug in response to the light. The fluorescence is dependent on the chemical structure of the drug, so it is 100 % distinct for every drug, and the machine can identify the drug in question in 30 seconds.
For now, the technology is in its development stage, and has only been programmed to recognize high-risk IV medications, but the hope is that it can be expanded to work with all drugs, and then used at bedside to reduce prescription errors taking place in hospitals. According to a University of Utah pharmacist who is testing the machine said, “The goal is zero patient errors for all of this.”
Unfortunately, the technology is in place in only 12 hospitals nationwide, and therefore cannot protect most people from deadly prescription errors. If you have lost a loved one as a result of a prescription error in Pheonix, contact the experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Snyder & Wenner, P.C. who will listen to your case and take up your cause.
