News Release

Baxter's New EnlightenedHRBC Bar Coding Advances Quality and Content of Product Information

Baxter's Next Generation Patient and Medication Management System Links to IV Pumps at the Point of Care

DEERFIELD, Ill., December 5, 2002 -Baxter Healthcare Corporation today unveiled complementary new technologies in the areas of bar coding, patient information and medication management, which advance the quality, content and usage of patient and medication information in a clinical setting to help clinicians reduce the risk of medication errors.

Baxter today introduced ENLIGHTENEDHRBC Bar Coding, a next-generation, high-resolution bar code technology for flexible IV bags that includes lot number and expiration date information. The inclusion of lot number and expiration date in the bar code sets a new standard for the health-care industry and solves a problem the industry has not previously been able to address.

Baxter also is launching its next-generation AUTROS POINT OF CARE System, a computerized, wireless patient information and medication management system that will also directly link to Baxter's COLLEAGUE CX infusion pump, which is used to administer intravenous medications to patients. The new connectivity between the AUTROS POINT OF CARE System and the COLLEAGUE CX infusion pump will assist clinicians in an automatic comparison of the pump's settings (e.g. dosage, flow rate) to the physician's order for intravenous medications. This enhancement will allow the nurse to verify that the pump setting matches the order before starting the infusion. It will also help nurses to monitor infusion pump status, providing a secondary indicator for alerts and alarms, from virtually any location in the hospital.

"Throughout our 70-year history, we have time and again advanced patient care practices by introducing innovative technologies designed with built-in safeguards for both patients and caregivers," said David Bonderud, president of Baxter's Medication Delivery business in the United States. "Our next-generation ENLIGHTENEDHRBC bar code and AUTROS POINT OF CARE System technologies are the latest examples of Baxter's commitment to and investment in safety."

"Bar codes are an important enabling technology that can significantly improve patient safety and facilitate operational efficiencies throughout the health-care system," Bonderud continued. "These next-generation technologies provide Baxter with the unmatched capability to address the important need to reduce medication errors through a comprehensive, integrated approach."

ENLIGHTENEDHRBC Technology Increases Usefulness and Applicability of Bar Codes

Baxter's innovative ENLIGHTENEDHRBC bar code technology overcomes critical challenges that have limited the usefulness and applicability of existing bar code systems which use traditional "hot-stamp" printing methods. Hot-stamped bar coding on flexible IV bags limits the effectiveness of the bar code in several ways. The printing plates often degrade portions of the printed codes, impacting the print resolution and thereby the effectiveness of the scanner. Also, flexible IV bags may be sterilized at temperatures over 248 degrees Fahrenheit after printing, often causing distortion in the bag's surface that can degrade the bar code's resolution. The process of creating a hot-stamp printing plate and installing it on a manufacturing line takes time and limits the ability of manufacturers to include accurate lot number and expiration date, which the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and health-care advocates recognize as critical elements to increasing patient safety.

Baxter's next-generation, computer-controlled printing technology uses heat transfer to apply the high-resolution bar coding directly to the bag. In addition, the bar coding can be updated dynamically on the production line with a few clicks on a computer keyboard. This real-time ability to modify the bar coding just before printing allows for the lot number and expiration date to be printed on flexible IV containers.

Baxter's ENLIGHTENEDHRBC bar code features a 14-character Uniform Code Council/European Article Number (UCC/EAN), which is a globally recognized manufacturing identifier used for automated tracking of drug products. The UCC/EAN also incorporates the National Drug Code registered with the FDA. A secondary line features the lot number and expiration date. When scanned or tracked, the lot number and expiration date help ensure that drugs subject to recall will not be delivered to patients, and the expiration date helps ensure that patients will not receive medication that is past expiration.

"This is a great move on the part of Baxter. Having an effective bar code technology for IV containers, including the lot number and expiration date, enables a comprehensive medication management system. Tying a bar code to a real-time, easy-to-access information management system has the potential to improve the medication use process and dramatically cut medication errors," said Philip J. Schneider, clinical professor and director of the Latiolais Leadership Program, a nationally recognized program for the reporting and analysis of adverse drug events, at the Ohio State University, and past president of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN).

In the United States, approximately 90 percent of the more than 34 million patients admitted to hospitals annually receive IV medication from flexible bags. According to a 1999 study published by the Institute of Medicine titled "To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System," as many as 98,000 Americans may die annually because of medical mistakes, with a significant number of these deaths attributed to medication errors. Improvements made to bar code scanning and tracking medication in flexible IV bags can have an impact on improving patient safety.

Baxter's Next-Generation AUTROS POINT OF CARE System Enhances Link Between Technologies To Help Create A Safe Health-Care Environment

Baxter also is launching a next-generation AUTROS POINT OF CARE System that will link directly with the company's COLLEAGUE CX infusion pump to provide a comprehensive, integrated approach to the delivery of medication in a hospital environment. The new connectivity between the AUTROS POINT OF CARE System and the COLLEAGUE CX infusion pump will assist clinicians in an automatic comparison of the pump settings to the physician's order for intravenous medications. This will allow the nurse to verify that the pump setting matches the order before starting the infusion. This enhancement will also help nurses monitor infusion pump status, providing a secondary indicator for alerts and alarms, from virtually any location in the hospital. It also will alert the pharmacy of infusion pump flow rate changes that signal when to send additional IV bags to the nursing floor.

Providing caregivers with the real-time information needed to help clinicians safely and correctly administer medications, Baxter's ENLIGHTENEDHRBC bar code technology, in conjunction with Baxter's AUTROS POINT OF CARE System, provides a unique and comprehensive approach to patient and medication management that helps clinicians reduce the potential for error and helps to promote the safe administration of medications.

Using wireless, bar code scanning technology and hand-held computer devices, the current AUTROS POINT OF CARE System improves the effectiveness of communication between physicians, pharmacists and nurses, and links them in an interdisciplinary approach to patient care. The system includes scanning for patient identification at the patient bedside, electronic entry of physician orders, monitoring and charting of patient medical records, and management of pharmacy and nursing workflow. Using the AUTROS POINT OF CARE System, together with Baxter's innovative bar code technology, the clinical care team can view and update critical information and respond to alerts in real-time from various locations throughout the hospital.

"Technologies such as the current AUTROS POINT OF CARE System allow us to reduce the potential for medication errors at every stage of the patient care management process," said Peter Hofstetter, chief executive officer of Northwestern Medical Center, a private, not-for-profit community hospital in St. Albans, Vermont. "It's critical that our clinical staff has the information they need to ensure that the right patient receives the right medication, in the right dose, at the right time, through the right route of administration. Baxter is making the vision of a comprehensive patient and medication management system a reality. They are helping us to achieve a new standard in patient care and have made our hospital a leader in the use of wireless, information system technology to improve patient safety."

Northwestern Medical Center will be one of the first hospitals to implement the next generation AUTROS POINT OF CARE System, which links with Baxter's COLLEAGUE CX infusion pump. "The newly integrated connectivity to the COLLEAGUE CX infusion pump will further improve the quality of care and will help us to manage both patient information and the administration of medications-two of the most critical tasks our clinical team undertakes," Hofstetter added.

About Baxter

Baxter's Medication Delivery business offers a single source of medication delivery products and services, including drug delivery, intravenous solutions, infusion pumps, administration sets, parenteral nutrition products, anesthesia devices and pharmaceutical agents. Through development, alliance and acquisition, Baxter has recently added information systems and medication delivery, including the AUTROS POINT OF CARE system, to its product portfolio. Together, these medication delivery products and information system technologies integrate to provide a comprehensive, integrated approach to medication delivery that helps to create a safe health-care environment, promotes best practices in the delivery of medication and drives operational efficiency throughout the hospital.

Baxter Healthcare Corporation is the principal domestic operating business of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX). Baxter International Inc. is a global health-care company that, through its subsidiaries, provides critical therapies for people with life-threatening conditions. Baxter's bioscience, medication delivery and renal products and services are used to treat patients with some of the most challenging medical conditions including hemophilia, immune deficiencies, infectious diseases, trauma, cancer and kidney disease.

Baxter representatives will be demonstrating the ENLIGHTENEDHRBC bar coding technology and the AUTROS POINT OF CARE System at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists mid-year clinical meeting Dec. 8-12 in Atlanta.

(ENLIGHTENEDHRBC, AUTROS POINT OF CARE and COLLEAGUE are trademarks of Baxter International Inc. and its affiliates.)

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including technological advances in the medical field, product demand and market acceptance, actions of regulatory bodies, the impact of competitive products and pricing, and other risks detailed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by management of the company and are believed to be reasonable, though are inherently uncertain and difficult to predict. Actual results or experience could differ materially from the forward-looking statements.

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