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November / December 2008
NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES
TRENDS
Baxter's Antimicrobial IV Technology Kills Six Common Pathogens
Baxter Healthcare Corp. announced that it received 510(k) clearance for expanded labeling for the first antimicrobial needleless intravenous (IV) connector, V-Link Luer-activated device (LAD) with VitalShield protective coating. With a new federal policy restricting reimbursement for healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), healthcare professionals are seeking effective techniques and technologies to reduce the risk of contamination from a broad array of pathogens (infection-causing agents) within their hospitals.
Launched earlier this year, V-Link with VitalShield has now been shown to kill at least 99.99% of six common pathogens known to cause catheter-related bloodstream infections. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared expanded labeling for V-Link with VitalShield based on V-Link's ability to combat three additional pathogens: vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (coagulase negative). These three pathogens improve upon the previously cleared labeling, which included methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter cloacae.
Testing has demonstrated V-Link with VitalShield is effective against this broad spectrum of microorganisms and retains antimicrobial efficacy for up to a 96-hour period. In vitro testing for V-Link with VitalShield was conducted using six strains of six common pathogens known to cause bloodstream infections. V-Link with VitalShield is already available in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia, and New Zealand, and Baxter plans to launch the product in Europe later this year.
As of October, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) no longer reimburses U.S. hospitals for costs required to treat healthcare-associated infections, including catheter-related bloodstream infections.
Source: Baxter Healthcare
ECRI Institute Announces New Service to Benchmark Medical Equipment Operations
ECRI Institute, a nonprofit that researches the best approaches to improving patient care, announces a new membership service to help administrators, materials managers, and clinical engineering departments evaluate key medical equipment management activities.
The new online system, BiomedicalBenchmark™, provides a set of tools to assess, manage, and improve the efficiency of biomedical services. Comparative benchmarking data from ECRI Institute and healthcare facilities, along with guidance articles and inspection and preventive maintenance (IPM) procedures, are among the main components of the web-based system. Benchmarking, the practice of comparing activities and performance levels in order to identify areas needing improvement, can ultimately help clinical engineering groups weed out ineffective processes and focus efforts on the activities that most effectively support patient care and safety goals.
"An effective benchmarking program is all about continuous quality improvement. Getting it right can have a significant impact on cost, efficiency of operations, and overall patient safety," says James P. Keller, Jr., vice president, health technology evaluation and safety, ECRI Institute.
Users of BiomedicalBenchmarkª can access and share data about equipment acquisition cost, service contract cost, expected life, failure rates, and clinical engineering department composition. In addition to comparative data, BiomedicalBenchmark includes a library of inspection and preventive maintenance procedures for 82 medical devices. The system's procedures can be used "as is" or be modified to fit specific facility needs. Members of the system also benefit by having access to "user-generated," model-specific procedures. Sample procedures are being offered at www.ecri.org/biomedicalbenchmark.
Source: ECRI Institute
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