While U.S. hospital-acquired infections are on the rise, the prognosis is good in one important area: bloodstream infections. These are often caused by mismanagement of IV catheters in patients' veins and by poor catheter insertion.
The good news is that Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI) are preventable, according to the Center for Disease Control, and the vascular access specialists at Lee Medical (www.leemedical.com) are proving it.
Built around the practice of "using the right device at the right time," Lee Medical is an outsourced service whose nurses not only use the appropriate medical devices, they also use Apple iPads running FileMaker Go to help drive down the troubling frequency and cost of CLABSI. Lee Medical contracts with about 60 hospitals and other care facilities in Tennessee for use of its proprietary software solution, VAST®, built with FileMaker Go for iPad.
Vascular access devices (VADs) are essential for everything from delivering drugs and nutrition to administering pain control and anesthesia. But if a catheter VAD is not properly inserted and maintained throughout its lifespan, it can become an on-ramp for germs.
An important key to infection control is the continuity of care provided by skilled practitioners maintaining the device using a regimented discipline," notes Michele Lee, president and head of clinical operations at Lee Medical. "Our specialized teams are all highly trained in best practices and know which devices work best in specific situations. We have a track record of less than 0.5 infections per 1,000 catheter days as compared to many hospitals that report infection rates between 2 and 18 per 1,000 catheter days."
