Packaging

Zebra Technologies and Managed Healthcare Associates Inc. Announce Three-Year Agreement

Thursday 09. October 2008 - Zebra to provide MHA Inc. members with full line of bar code and card printers, supplies and services for enhanced patient safety, reduced errors and streamlined workflow

Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA), a global leader in delivering on-demand specialty printing solutions for the healthcare industry, has signed a three-year agreement with Managed Healthcare Associates, Inc. (MHA), the nation’s largest alternate site GPO. The full line agreement makes Zebra’s bar code and card printers, as well as its supplies and service agreements, available to MHA’s more than 475 members for a wide range of identification, tracking and access control applications.

“Increasing patient safety is among the highest priorities in healthcare today,” says Kelly Decker, contract coordinator at MHA Inc. “Having effective information technology in place is a key step in building a culture of safety that enables providers to improve outcomes and quality of care throughout their organizations. The comprehensive range of bar code solutions Zebra offers will help our members minimize medical errors while also reducing costs and streamlining workflow.”

According to The Institute of Medicine, at least 1.5 million preventable adverse drug events (ADEs) occur annually in the United States. Bar coding has been shown to substantially reduce dangerous and costly medical errors, including ADEs, and the 19th Annual 2008 HIMSS Leadership Survey found that medical error reduction and patient safety remain top priorities for hospital IT executives. Zebra’s bar code solutions enhance patient safety at the bedside, as well as throughout the hospital, through patient identification, medication labeling, lab specimen collection, radiology film labeling and surgical instrument tracking applications.

“In the ongoing effort to improve patient safety, an ever-increasing number of healthcare providers are implementing proven technologies like bar coding to help eliminate medical errors,” says Cristina DeMartini, global practice leader, healthcare at Zebra Technologies. “Zebra is committed to working with MHA and its members to deliver a full range of bar code solutions designed to enhance patient safety, improve process efficiencies and increase staff productivity.”