Philips launches new line of neonatal blood pressure supplies
25 Oct 2010
Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) has launched
its latest line of neonatal blood pressure systems with improved patient
safety.
Available globally, the systems are compliant with neonatal
connection regulations that became effective in the European Union
in December 2009.
Philips designed the new line of neonatal cuffs, air hoses, and
upgrade kits specifically to prevent tragic misconnection errors
that can cause harm to the most vulnerable of patients.
The new tubing and catheter standards are part of a larger global
focus on patient safety. According to the World Health Organization
(WHO), medical errors affect one in every 10 patients around the
world. While the exact number of preventable medical errors is
unknown, these mistakes result in many avoidable deaths and
additional healthcare costs.
In order to improve patient safety, the WHO identified “nine
effective solutions” that healthcare providers must implement in
order to reduce such errors. Avoiding catheter and tubing
misconnections is number seven on that list which also includes
surgery on the wrong body part and foreign objects left in a patient
after surgery.
“Opportunities for misconnection errors between medical devices
must be eliminated to ensure patient safety,” said David Russell,
vice president and general manager, Perinatal Care, for Philips
Healthcare.
“This innovative neonatal blood pressure solution, which
replaces the standard, tapered male-female Luer connectors currently
in use, is designed to be incompatible with other medical devices,
such as feeding tubes, catheters, IV tubing, and needleless IV
ports, thereby preventing misconnections that can cause patient
harm.”
In addition to being colour-coded and graphically labelled, the
full line of hoses and neonatal cuffs are available in sizes one
through five, ensuring a comfortable fit for the entire
neonatal/infant patient population. Intuitive and easy-to-use, the
solutions empower clinicians to deliver the highest standard of
care.
Upgrade kits are also available allowing Philips customers to
easily extend the life of existing equipment while still meeting
newly introduced safety requirements.