LAKE FOREST, Ill., and RICHARDSON, Texas, April 24, 2006 -- Hospira, Inc. (NYSE: HSP), a leading global hospital products manufacturer, is the first infusion therapy device provider to have interoperability, or compatibility, with the InnerWireless© Medical-grade Wireless Utility, an in-building wireless system designed to guarantee wireless coverage inside hospitals and other large buildings. By providing connectivity between InnerWireless' Medical-grade Wireless Utility and Hospira's medication management systems, the companies are leading the healthcare industry in providing secure and reliable wireless transmission of data critical to improving patient safety in the hospital.

When a clinician prescribes medicine administered through an infusion therapy pump, the InnerWireless system enables the infusion device to link to and transmit patient data to the hospital's clinical information system (CIS) decreasing the potential for interruption or concern of an unreliable or weak network signal. With InnerWireless, from virtually anywhere a patient is receiving treatment in the hospital, Hospira's infusion therapy pumps and safety software can communicate with the wireless network to keep the devices in contact with clinicians, allowing for real-time communications regarding patient data. Once the pump links to the CIS, the two systems can work together and in conjunction with other technologies to verify the "five rights" of medication administration -- right drug, right patient, right dose, right time and right route of administration -- helping to decrease the chances of a medication error.

"Interoperability across applications and devices is critical as healthcare institutions implement wireless infrastructures and transition to wider use of electronic records," said Eric Yablonka, Vice President and Chief Information Officer for The University of Chicago Hospitals and Health Systems. "The connectivity between InnerWireless' Medical-grade Wireless Utility and Hospira medication management systems will help us reduce medication errors, provide enhanced access to clinical information and improve patient care."
Hospitals are increasingly implementing integrated information technology tools -- such as electronic medical records, medication management devices and safety software, and bar code administration systems. In order for these tools to improve safety and operational efficiency, clinicians must be able to depend on reliable, secure and seamless data transmission.

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