According to an article on nurse.com, the two sisters, Gail Barton-Hay, RN, and Terri Barton-Salinas, RN, are using colored I.V. lines to prevent medication errors. As a nurse, Barton-Salinas realized years ago that the bundle of clear, identical intravenous lines was an easy spot for medication errors to be made. Many nurses use colored tape to distinguish the lines, but it would frequently become snagged on bed sheets.
Barton-Salinas soon realized that things would be much easier, and much safer, if the I.V. lines themselves were tinted. She told her sister about the idea and they began working on building their company, ColorSafe I.V. Lines.
The Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative reported a study that showed that every year about 7,000 people are killed due to medication errors in hospital. The majority of those errors happen in the prescription or administration phases. With their red, green, orange, blue and purple I.V. lines (complete with corresponding I.V. bag labels), these two sisters are hoping to reduce those numbers.
The product is only waiting for color approval from the FDA. Once they gain approval, ColorSafe I.V. Lines should be able to launch this summer. The sisters hope to eventually launch several other products that are currently in development.
Products such as these underscore the constant and growing problem that is medication errors in the United States. If you have been taken ill or lost a loved one to a prescription medication error, you should be compensated for your costs and your emotional pain. Contact an attorney the Law Offices of Gacovino Lake for a free consultation. Call us today at: 1-800-246-HURT (4878).
