CareFusion Showcases Solutions to Improve Operating Room Effectiveness at Association of periOperative Registered Nurses Congress

SAN DIEGO, March 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CareFusion will showcase its comprehensive portfolio of solutions to help improve operating room (OR) efficiency and effectiveness at the 59th annual Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) Congress in New Orleans.

"The OR will always be a critical focus area for our hospital customers, as it often accounts for up to half of a hospital's expense budget(1)," said Vivek Jain, president of Procedural Solutions for CareFusion. "The solutions CareFusion is showcasing at AORN help hospitals enhance safety and quality, while improving productivity in this increasingly complex OR regulatory environment."  

The perioperative solutions featured in exhibit booth #5125 include:

• Snowden-Pencer® laparoscopic ergonomic take-apart instruments, which enable clinicians to intuitively take apart and visually inspect the instrumentation during cleaning to help support sterility. The instrument line features the Snowden-Pencer ergonomic ring-handle, which distributes pressure more evenly and helps reduce the potential for intraoperative hand fatigue, and a broad range of durable insert and shaft components to meet specific needs for laparoscopic procedures and accommodate surgeons' preferences.
• V. Mueller® minimally invasive cardio-thoracic instruments (MI-CT). A new line of V. Mueller instruments for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) and minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS), these MI-CT instruments feature unique designs including a sliding-shaft to allow the instrument to function through small incisions, as well as a lightweight, ergonomic aluminum squeeze handle.
• Pyxis® Anesthesia System 3500 arm extension accessory compatible with Codonics SLS 500i Safe Label System, which delivers a complete solution for safe, compliant, fast labeling of medication in the operating room through the Codonics SLS 500i Safe Label System. It also improves the syringe preparation workflow by automatically printing American Society of Anesthesiologists compliant full-color labels containing all The Joint Commission required elements while the syringe is being filled.
• Pyxis MedStation® ES system, the first product released on the Pyxis ES platform, CareFusion's next-generation automated dispensing system that helps improve nursing workflow and enhance medication safety with enterprise-wide integration, centralized system management and clinical efficiencies.
• Pyxis® supply technologies, which can integrate with a hospital's OR information system (ORIS) to help clinicians reduce manual documentation by electronically charting supplies, tissues and implants to ORIS case documentation, as well as charging and reordering inventory. Clinicians and administrators from Memorial Hermann Healthcare System will also be in the CareFusion booth at AORN to discuss Pyxis point-of-use automation in the surgical environment.

"The installation of Pyxis technologies allowed us to transform our supply chain from a very manual program with a lot of variation into a just-in-time, low-unit of measure program," said Chris Toomes, director of Professional Services, Supply Chain Management, at Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston. "We were able to standardize and streamline our processes on our nursing floors and in operating rooms, which led to higher nurse satisfaction and lower costs. The Pyxis platform is quite simply the lynchpin for our supply chain, which allows Memorial Hermann to provide the highest quality care at the lowest cost. We are excited to have this opportunity to share our story in the CareFusion booth at AORN."

• ChloraPrep® Patient Preoperative Skin Preparation. The unique 2% Chlorhexidine Gluconate/70% Isopropyl Alcohol formulation is a one-step, broad-spectrum antiseptic that helps to significantly reduce microorganisms on the skin that can cause infection.  
• IMPRESS® instrument tracking system, a web-based instrument management solution that helps track instruments throughout the perioperative environment, helping ensure the availability of surgical instrumentation, reduce lost instruments and maximize staff time and OR throughput.

In addition, CareFusion will showcase its surgical clippers, Surgicept® and Triseptin® Surgical Hand Scrubs, FloShield™ System, Pyxis ProcedureStation® system with Tissue and Implant module and CareFusion Knowledge Portal for Pyxis Technologies at AORN booth #5125.

Also in the CareFusion booth at AORN, the company will offer live presentations and take-home self-study opportunities for continuing education (CE) credit. Attendees can participate in live presentations hosted by industry professionals – entitled "Patient Skin Antisepsis: Why Does it Matter?" and "A Clinician's Supply Chain! What's That?" – or complete take-home self-study guides on the subjects of surgical checklists and tissue-tracking compliance. Each CE opportunity is eligible for two hours of nursing credit.

About CareFusion

CareFusion (NYSE: CFN) is a global corporation serving the health care industry with products and services that help hospitals measurably improve the safety and quality of care. The company develops market-leading technologies including Alaris® infusion pumps, Pyxis® automated dispensing and patient identification systems, AVEA®, AirLife™ and LTV® series ventilation and respiratory products, ChloraPrep® skin prep products, MedMined® services for data mining surveillance, Nicolet™ neurological monitoring and diagnostic products, V. Mueller® surgical instruments, and an extensive line of products that support interventional medicine. CareFusion employs more than 14,000 people across its global operations. More information may be found at www.carefusion.com.

(1) "Why Total Perioperative Automation is Essential for 21st Century Healthcare Systems." Christopher Grover, Grover Group, 2006.

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SOURCE CareFusion