User:Crushmag/Baxa Corporation

Baxa Corporation is a leading developer and manufacturer of innovative devices, systems and software for the safe and efficient preparation, handling, packaging, and administration of medications.

History
Baxa Corporation was founded in 1975 by Brian Baldwin and Ronald Baxa with a mission to develop innovative, high-quality products for hospital pharmacies. In more than three decades of rapid growth and change in the healthcare industry, the company has flourished through its dedication to service and a solid reputation for designing niche products that provide solutions to practical problems in the pharmacy. In a competitive field, Baxa Corporation has built its reputation on providing “quality beyond expectations.”

When Baldwin and Baxa started their new company, oral liquid medications were dosed with teaspoons or graduated cups. Inaccurate and even dangerous doses resulted. Additionally, the use of luer syringes to deliver non-sterile oral liquid medications raised the possibility of accidental injection. The Exacta-Med® Oral Dispenser, with a special tip that does not accept a needle, was designed to provide a highly accurate, completely safe method for dosing oral liquid drugs. Exacta-Med Dispensers quickly became the industry standard, and remain a key part of the Baxa product line today.

The early success of its oral dispenser encouraged the company to look into streamlining other time-consuming procedures involving fluid medications. In 1987, Baxa entered a new technologic phase with the introduction of the Exacta-Med Pharmacy Pump (now the Repeater™ Pump). This peristaltic pump was the first ever designed exclusively for the pharmacy, and it quickly became apparent that this technology provided the key to developing a number of innovative products and systems. This technology remains at the core of Baxa compounders and pharmacy pumps.

The Repeater Pump, originally designed for batch filling of oral medications and IV admixtures, proved to be more versatile than anticipated. Designed to be accurate to within 0.02 mL, the pump’s success in the pharmacy pointed to a need for a single compounding pump to handle both micro and macro additions for TPN solutions. Baxa then developed a unique valve controller for the selection of multiple ingredients, and in 1989 introduced the MicroMacro™ TPN Compounder at the ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) Mid-Year Clinical meeting.

Baxa leadership recognized early that international development would be an important measure of success for the growing company. Baxa Ltd was established as an exclusive distributor in 1988 to handle sales in Europe, The Middle East and Africa for the company’s products. By 1990, Baxa Ltd was a wholly owned subsidiary of Baxa Corporation. During this time it became clear that further advances with the Repeater Pump technology would come through the software that managed the equipment’s operation. A software team took on the task of creating operating software for the MicroMacro TPN Compounder and in 1991, Baxa acquired Apothecary Software’s TPN-PC™ and TPN-PC Plus™. These software packages automated TPN calculation and verification, prepare labels, and manage patient records. Baxa then integrated and refined these packages to create a complete system for TPN compounding. Abacus™ TPN Calculation Software, launched in 2003, replaced the earlier software packages for order entry and calculation applications.

Further innovations came in 1995 with the launch of the Dual Rate Syringe Infuser and the Exacta-Mix™ Universal Pump, or EM600. The EM600 was an entry-level embodiment of the company’s micro and macro ingredient delivery technology. The syringe infuser provided a simple and low-cost alternative to proprietary minibag delivery systems and expensive infusion pumps. Custom-rate infusers were developed at the same time to deliver niche drugs and 24-hour infusion therapies. Now branded as the MicroFuse® Infusers, these devices remain the simplest available for fixed-rate, intermittent IV infusions.

In 1997, Baxa achieved certification to ISO 9001, followed by registration to EN46001 (CE). Baxa turned a corner with the launch of the Exacta-Mix 2400 Automated Compounder in 2002. This state-of-the-art system could pump 24 discrete ingredients with the speed and accuracy of the Repeater Pump, while providing the safety of bar code ingredient and formula validation. The EM2400 is the only device for automated sterile compounding that can handle both micro and macro ingredient delivery with precision; delivering volumetrically and verifying gravimetrically. The EM2400 is the market leader for automated compounding today.

In partnership with customers and suppliers, Baxa has fostered an environment of continuous product improvement that leads to product refinements and new product development. Among more recent Baxa product innovations are the Rapid-Fill™ Automated Syringe Filler, which fills, caps and labels sterile syringes; the NeoThrive™ Enteral Syringes and Pump for preventing misconnection errors in the NICU and the PadLock™ Set Saver, the only aseptic IV administration set storage solution that can be swabbed and reused..

Environmental Activities
Baxa Corporation is committed to manufacturing operations that minimize the opportunity for environmental harm and support sustainable resources. As a healthcare products provider, Baxa strives to choose the most efficient materials for their products – those that have the greatest potential for patient safety and clinical efficacy and the least potential for adverse environmental impact. More recently, the company has adopted a number of ‘green’ initiatives. One of those initiatives was discontinuing the use of all Styrofoam disposable cups by giving each associate a BPA free water bottle and coffee mug to use, therefore eliminating the waste of the disposable cups.