I-Flow, LLC, a Kimberly-Clark Health Care Company, Announces Single Source Agreement for ON-Q Products with Novation

LAKE FOREST, Calif., Oct. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- I-Flow announced today that the company has been awarded a single source national purchasing agreement by Novation, a health care group purchasing organization (GPO). The agreement covers I-Flow's flagship ON-Q products for incisional, nerve block and trauma use, including ON-Q C-bloc, ON-Q PainBuster, ON-Q SilverSoaker Catheters and ON-Q disposable and fluid tunnelers. The new agreement became effective October 1, 2012.

"Novation is the largest GPO in the U.S. and this award is further confirmation that I-Flow's ON-Q Pain Relief System is the number one physician choice in non-narcotic ambulatory infusion systems," said Chris Barys, General Manager of I-Flow.  "We are proud to be selected again by Novation to supply our products which improve patients' post-surgical recovery and reduce hospital costs."

About Novation

Founded in 1998, Novation is the leading health care supply chain expertise and contracting company for the more than 65,000 members of VHA Inc. and UHC, two national health care alliances, Children's Hospital Association, an alliance of the nation's leading pediatric facilities, and Provista, LLC. Novation provides alliance members with sourcing services, as well as information and data services. Based in Irving, Texas, Novation develops and manages competitive contracts with more than 600 suppliers. VHA, UHC, and Provista members used Novation contracts to purchase more than $40 billion in 2011. Novation recently earned the coveted Ethics Inside Certification from Ethisphere Institute, a leading international think tank dedicated to the research and promotion of best practices in corporate ethics and compliance. Novation was also named on Ethisphere's World's Most Ethical Companies list, and is the only company in the health care industry to earn both distinctions. To learn more about Novation, please visit the newly designed novationco.com and follow @NovationNews.

About ON-Q

The ON-Q Pain Relief System provides continuous infusion of a local anesthetic at or near the patient's surgical site for effective, non-narcotic post-surgical pain relief for days, getting patients back on their feet faster. It reduces patients' need for narcotics and decreases the potential for breakthrough pain. The system is simple, yet elegant and requires little management or intervention by the patient or caregiver. The device is completely portable and can be carried in a pouch or attached to a patient's clothing.

About I-Flow

I-Flow, LLC, a Kimberly-Clark Health Care Company, is a global market leader in acute non-narcotic management systems, driving innovative clinical applications for surgical procedures and regional anesthesia that improve outcomes and advance patient care. Led by its flagship line, the ON-Q Pain Relief System (ON-Q) provides reliable and simple non-narcotic, regional anesthesia therapies that are redefining post-surgical recovery by eliminating many of the side effects customarily associated with narcotics. Clinical studies have shown that patients who receive ON-Q products generally return to normal faster after surgery, resulting in shorter hospital stays, reduced costs and higher patient satisfaction. I-Flow offers a comprehensive suite of kits and trays for performing peripheral nerve blocks, providing an unmet need and total product solution for I-Flow's clinician customers. As part of I-Flow's total solution, the Company offers in-depth training, education, consulting and clinical support along with best-in-class medical device expertise. For more information, visit www.myON-Q.com.

SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Corporation