Flower Orthopedics Introduces New Standards for Delivering Cost-effective Orthopedic Surgery

HORSHAM, Pa., Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The orthopedic surgery status quo is being challenged by an emerging medical device manufacturer offering a new cost-effective procedure model. Flower Orthopedics today announced the availability of its FlowerCube™, a standardized, single-use bone fixation concept that provides significant operation and operational efficiencies. Each cube is indication-tailored and contains all of the necessary implants, trials and instruments needed to perform a procedure in one conveniently-sized, Ready-for-Surgery™ FlowerCube.

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Flower Orthopedics' "Ready-for-Surgery" concept provides surgery-specific applications in individual sterile packaging, which eliminates the need for pre-op sterilization and, compared to current practices, considerably reduces the number of implants and instruments brought into the operating room (OR). All instruments in the FlowerCube are single-use and disposable, removing the need to reprocess surgical tools post-op. The disposable feature is designed to help minimize the risk of infection potentially associated with reusable devices and expedite valuable OR turnaround time. With these efficiencies, the company believes hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) could save as much as 30 percent of the combined implant and instrument costs currently spent on each surgical case.

"The number of items brought into the procedure room for each orthopedic case today is unnecessarily excessive. It's confusing, time-consuming and inefficient. If providers are going to compete in this environment of declining reimbursements, they need better solutions," said Oliver Burckhardt, president and CEO of Flower Orthopedics. "We developed our FlowerCubes to simplify the process of preparing for and conducting bone fixation surgery while ensuring clinical excellence. What you get is consistent, reliable quality with faster patient turnaround time likely."

Through an exclusive distribution agreement with McKesson Medical-Surgical, a leading healthcare services and information technology company with extensive reach into the ASC market, Flower Orthopedics will immediately begin the roll-out of its hand and wrist cubes. The company's foot cubes will be launched over the course of the fourth quarter 2013. Flower Orthopedics' strategic goal is to have FlowerCubes available, able to address all commonly occurring fractures, in 2014.

"At McKesson Medical-Surgical, we strive to deliver better business health for our customers and to help our customers deliver better patient care. We are pleased to be able to offer Flower Orthopedics' products to our surgery center customers. We are glad to offer products to our customers that help them deliver better care for their patients," said Joan Eliasek, senior vice president, Product Strategy & Supplier Relations, McKesson Medical-Surgical.

Designed with simplicity in mind, the FlowerCube concept not only helps take the guesswork out of implant and instrument selection during a case, it allows providers the ability to customize their cube content based on personal preferences. Surgeons can dictate preferences using Flower Orthopedics' mobile tablet app that has an easy-to-use drag-and-drop feature, thereby streamlining the ordering/replenishment process and minimizing inventory levels.

The FlowerCube implants feature the patented Flower Locking System, which allows for accurate anatomic placement and reliable locking. The offering is sold in a rep-less model to eliminate the need to have an implant rep in the room during surgery.

Flower Orthopedics offers a broad range of high-quality bone-fixation implants that are designed for optimal performance and clinical excellence. More than 200 plate options are manufactured in partnership with ZRINSKI AG, a respected manufacturing leader and supplier of high-quality implants, medical products and technical solutions, headquartered in Germany.

"We're thrilled to be working directly with McKesson Medical-Surgical in this launch. Their wide ranging relationships with ASCs will help facilitate an important change in how orthopedic surgery is delivered," added Burckhardt. "Providing surgeons with only the tools they need in a more efficient way, without compromising patient care, is the right type of change we need for the future of orthopedics."

For more information about Flower Orthopedics, please visit www.FlowerOrtho.com.

About Flower Orthopedics
Greater surgical efficiency through standardization is the promise of Flower Orthopedics. The company's ready-for-surgery bone fixation solutions are designed to help hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers increase efficiency and improve surgical throughput. Learn more at www.FlowerOrtho.com.  

About McKesson Medical-Surgical
McKesson Medical-Surgical Inc., with offices in Richmond, VA, and McKesson Medical-Surgical Minnesota Supply Inc. in Golden Valley, MN, are affiliates of the McKesson Corporation. McKesson, currently ranked 14th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. We partner with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com. 

SOURCE Flower Orthopedics