Newsbriefs

In the bag

Hospitals that make use of ForHealth's IntelliFill i.v. system can now package injectable drugs for prescription compounding in Samson Medical Technologies' SmartPak Reservoir Bags. These are sealed plastic bags in a foil overwrap that can contain up to 300 gm of sterile powder. ForHealth Technologies has reached an agreement with Samson to make this possible.

Proposed rates not justified

Pairing of firms reduces drug error risk

Hospira's Plum A+ infusion device, part of the MedNet system, is integrating with Cerner's bar-code system, called CareGuard, to prevent IV drug errors at the point of care. Using wireless technology to connect the two can eliminate the need for nurses to manually enter medication names, doses, and infusion rates, reducing the opportunity for errors, the two companies claim.

OIG: 340B program found wanting

A new OIG report found many deficiencies in the way the Health Resources & Services Administration oversees the 340B drug discount program, with the result being that hospitals often don't know whether they are being overcharged by drugmakers for their purchases. OIG recommended that HRSA work with CMS to establish standards for calculating 340B ceiling prices, validate and monitor these prices to make sure they're right, punish manufacturers that overcharge hospitals, and provide hospitals with secure access to pricing data so that they can check to see if they are receiving the appropriate discounts. In response, HRSA agreed with most of the recommendations but disagreed about establishing penalties against violators. (See page HSE22 for more information about the 340B program.)