{"id":372896,"date":"2025-11-12T02:20:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T02:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/372896\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T02:20:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T02:20:18","slug":"san-antonio-woman-develops-product-aimed-at-eliminating-iv-medication-errors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/372896\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio woman develops product aimed at eliminating IV medication errors"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO<\/strong> \u2013 A San Antonio woman has spent the last decade developing a product and creating a company that aims to clearly label IV medications and reduce the risk of patients receiving the incorrect medication. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn 50% of facilities, there\u2019s nothing used,\u201d said Elizabeth Friedman, founder and CEO of Safen<\/a>. \u201cNo labels at all.\u201d <\/p>\n

Often, Friedman said, stickers or a piece of tape are wrapped around an IV line so that medical staff can quickly identify the medication a patient is receiving.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a nurse workaround,\u201d Friedman said. \u201cIt can get wet and smudge. You can\u2019t read it. You can\u2019t depend on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a problem her husband noticed while working in the medical field. <\/p>\n

Friedman, who has a background in clinical nutrition, founded Safen to develop plastic tags that snap onto IV lines. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis communication is visual and it\u2019s tactile and there is no technology in it,\u201d Friedman said. <\/p>\n

The tags are labeled with the medication type and have corresponding shapes, symbols and colors that medical staff can read and identify by touch. <\/p>\n

The goal of Friedman\u2019s product is to address what is described as \u201cspaghetti syndrome,\u201d which refers to a jumble of wires, cords and tubes connected to a patient.<\/p>\n

That chaos can cause confusion for medical staff, especially if they have to trace each IV line back to the IV bag to identify the source of the medicine, according to Friedman. <\/p>\n

\u201cFifty-eight percent of medication errors with IV lines are due to line labeling confusion,\u201d Friedman said. <\/p>\n

Friedman cited the statistic from a study published in the Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy. <\/p>\n

Friedman said her products are just as much for patients and patient advocates as they are for doctors and nurses. <\/p>\n

By clearly labeling the medication type with bold, brightly-colored tags, Friedman believes patients will have more precise knowledge of the medications they are receiving and feel more empowered to ask medical staff questions about those medications. <\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to make the world a safer place for all patients,\u201d Friedman said. \u201cAnd one day, we will all be a patient somewhere, sometime, somehow,\u201d <\/p>\n

Safen tags have been on the market for approximately a year and are being used in medical facilities in multiple states. They are not currently being used in San Antonio. <\/p>\n

In 2023, Friedman was honored by the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation<\/a> for her innovation. <\/p>\n

The foundation was created to honor Louise Batz, a San Antonio woman who died as a result of a medication error following knee replacement surgery. <\/p>\n

More health-related coverage on KSAT: <\/b><\/p>\n