Posted August 22, 2008
Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare: Product News
Welch Allyn Introduces the First Truly Standardized Blood Pressure Cuffs
Skaneateles Falls, NY, July 22, 2008 — Welch Allyn, a leading manufacturer of frontline medical products and solutions, recently introduced FlexiPort blood pressure cuffs to its United States market — the first cuffs designed to work with devices in any patient care area. FlexiPort cuffs connect to virtually any manual or electronic blood pressure device, so patients can be freely moved from room to room, floor to floor and department to department without forcing clinicians to find new cuffs for each different device.
"FlexiPort cuffs make finding, ordering, and using cuffs as simple as it should be," said Sean Karla, product manager at Welch Allyn. "There is currently incredible variability with all the different tube, connector, and cuff styles out there, which causes a tremendous amount of caregiver confusion and leads to excess inventory. By providing a single common connection point between the device and cuff, FlexiPort cuffs can eliminate much of that variability."
The FlexiPort connection is built into every new FlexiPort cuff. When a facility standardizes with FlexiPort cuffs, they attach FlexiPort fittings to every device tube they have in-house. The fittings can then snap directly into the FlexiPort connection to eliminate traditional tubes and connectors from their cuffs, while making every cuff work like a one- or a two-tube cuff.
Facility standardization with FlexiPort blood pressure cuffs can reduce the typical hospital's cuff part numbers by up to 60 percent. The reduced part numbers mean a reduction in inventory levels — so blood pressure cuffs are easier to find for clinicians and easier to order for purchasing managers.
"Clinicians face enough challenges when they're at work, so we designed a cuff option that actually makes caregivers' lives easier," said Karla. "FlexiPort removes one of the many problems caregivers face on a daily basis so they can focus on what matters most — their patients."
FlexiPort also helps cut down the risk of spreading infectious diseases through cuffs by enabling a single cuff to be used on multiple devices. Assigning a FlexiPort cuff to a patient when s/he is admitted to the hospital allows the patient to move freely throughout the facility without having the cuff changed every time the patient is hooked up to a new device, which reduces waste as well as exposure to other hospital-borne illness.
"From purchasing to biomedical engineering to infection control, everyone in the hospital appreciates the part number reduction efficiencies and cost savings offered with FlexiPort cuffs," said Karla. "But it's the benefits for clinicians — creating one common connection point and eliminating complex tube and connector variations — that make the cuffs a true hit."
The FlexiPort feature was available for both reusable and disposable cuffs and approved for sale throughout Europe and the Middle East in November 2007. The FlexiPort feature is now available and approved for sale in the United States.
About Welch Allyn
Founded in 1915 and headquartered in Skaneateles Falls, New York (USA), Welch Allyn is a leading global manufacturer of medical diagnostic equipment and a complete range of digital and connected solutions. With over 2,300 employees working in 17 different countries, Welch Allyn specializes in helping doctors, nurses, and other frontline practitioners across the globe provide the best patient care by developing innovative products, breakthrough technologies, and cutting-edge solutions that help them see more patients, detect more conditions, and improve more lives. More information about Welch Allyn and its complete line of connected products and solutions may be found at www.welchallyn.com.
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