I-Flow Take ACTION Program Arms Physicians and Hospitals with Tools to Manage Post-Surgical Pain

LAKE FOREST, Calif., Oct. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- I-Flow, LLC, a Kimberly-Clark Health Care Company and manufacturer of the ON-Q Pain Relief System, today announced a new service for hospitals designed to reduce reliance on narcotics for post-surgical pain management and improve both the quality of care and financial outcomes.

The ON-Q Take ACTION (Avoiding Complications Through Initiatives to reduce Overutilized Narcotics) program is an integrated, step-wise approach to help hospitals implement alternatives to opioids for post-surgical pain management. Until recently, post-surgical pain was primarily treated with narcotics, which data overwhelmingly suggest may pose risks of addiction and may cause undesirable side effects, longer hospital stays, unnecessary readmissions and increased potential for adverse drug events. These unwelcome side effects can have a significant impact on healthcare costs and can contribute to poor patient satisfaction. By combining financial assessments, best practice recommendations, innovative technology and outcomes measurement, the ON-Q Take ACTION program may help to reduce or eliminate unnecessary exposure to narcotics, improve post-surgical pain scores and decrease the overall cost of care.

"With increasing focus on minimizing excess cost, improving patient satisfaction and avoiding readmissions, it's essential for hospitals to explore alternatives to the standard narcotic treatment for post-surgical pain management," said Mark Kem, Principal, KEM Healthcare Solutions, LLC. "Non-narcotic solutions, supported by clinical research and outcomes, assist physicians and other care providers in managing their patients' pain with fewer side effects, which also contributes to faster recovery times and shorter hospital stays."

Using a hospital's own data, ON-Q Take ACTION can demonstrate the quality and financial improvements resulting from adoption of a non-narcotic pain management system. These improvements help hospitals align with many of healthcare reform's quality improvements, such as increased patient safety and overall cost reduction. The program includes:

• A financial assessment to estimate potential savings
• Implementation of the ON-Q Pain Relief System
• Outcomes measurement
• Personalized staff training and education
• Documentation and change management support

A key component of the ON-Q Take ACTION program is the use of the ON-Q Pain Relief System, a single-use, portable pump that delivers an automatic and regulated flow of local anesthetic through a specially designed catheter inserted near the patient's surgical site or in close proximity to a peripheral nerve. ON-Q reduces the reliance on narcotics to relieve pain following surgery, reduces many narcotic-related side effects and helps patients recover faster after surgery with less pain.

"Healthcare reform has created an economic and quality balancing act, forcing physicians and hospitals to reexamine their purchasing decisions for post-surgical pain management," said Price St. Hilaire, Global Director of Marketing, I-Flow, LLC. "Through the ON-Q Take ACTION program, we are able to address both the clinical and financial goals of hospitals by providing advanced technology, valuable insight and advice from experts who understand the needs of physicians and patients."

About I-Flow
I-Flow, LLC, a Kimberly-Clark Health Care Company, is a global market leader in acute pain and ambulatory medication delivery, driving innovative clinical applications for surgical procedures and regional anesthesia that improve outcomes and advance patient care. Led by its surgical pain management 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 reducing many of the side effects customarily associated with narcotics. Clinical studies have shown that patients who receive ON-Q products generally get back to normal faster after surgery, resulting in shorter hospital stays, reduced costs and higher patient satisfaction. I-Flow also 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. Also as part of I-Flow's total solution, the Company offers in-depth training, education, consulting and clinical support along with medical device expertise. For more information, visit www.iflo.com.

SOURCE I-Flow, LLC