Magnolia Medical, MHA Solutions, and Healthcare Providers Insurance Company Enter into an Exclusive, Endorsed Agreement for the Steripath® Initial Specimen Diversion Device®

SEATTLE, Dec. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Magnolia Medical Technologies, Inc., inventors of Steripath®, the only FDA 510(k)-cleared device platform indicated to reduce blood culture contamination for sepsis testing,¹ announced today that it has entered into an endorsed company agreement with MHA Solutions, a subsidiary of the Mississippi Hospital Association (MHA), and Healthcare Providers Insurance (HPIC), a reciprocal insurer that partners with hospital associations to provide various types of coverage to healthcare providers and systems.

This new agreement provides educational resources and programs to MHA members on best practices in blood culture collection and the role of clinically proven solutions, including Steripath, in virtually eliminating blood culture contamination at the source. Two MHA member hospitals have also been selected to participate in a pilot program, sponsored by the HPIC, to measure the impact Steripath has on reducing blood culture contamination. One of the primary goals of the pilot is to establish a standardized blood culture collection and contamination prevention model that may be followed by other MHA members to further increase patient safety and outcomes across the State of Mississippi. 

MHA Solutions and Magnolia Medical will also be sponsoring roundtable symposiums with C-suite executives from MHA member hospitals on the national movement to a new 1% or below blood culture contamination rate, a significant reduction from the current national target benchmark of 3%. Blood culture is the gold standard for detecting blood stream infections, including sepsis. An estimated 58 million are performed each year.² A reduction in blood culture contamination rate from 3% to 1% equates to approximately 1.2 million fewer patients impacted by a potential misdiagnosis of sepsis.

"The goal of MHA Solutions is to provide the best products and services possible for our members and clients," said Eddie Foster, President and CEO of MHA Solutions. "Steripath, with its clinically proven results, aligns with our goal. We are excited to join Magnolia Medical in advancing to a higher standard of care for sepsis diagnostic accuracy by providing new technology solutions and practice change to our members that can prevent patient harm due to false-positive blood cultures. We look forward to sharing the results of the HPIC-sponsored Steripath pilot with our membership of over 100 hospitals."

"Educating on best practices that can enable elimination of blood culture contamination and support the national movement to a 1% blood culture contamination rate is our core focus as a company," said Greg Bullington, CEO of Magnolia Medical. "We are pleased to collaborate with MHA Solutions, the Mississippi Hospital Association, and HPIC to further improve patient safety and outcomes at hospitals throughout Mississippi. By increasing awareness of clinically proven technology solutions coupled with best practice educational strategies, our collective goal is to support MHA members in achieving a better standard for their patients."

Blood cultures tests are an essential tool used to diagnose bloodstream infections, including sepsis, to determine the specific pathogen causing the infection, and target appropriate antimicrobial therapy to treat the patient. The problem with the test lies within the collection process. During venipuncture, skin fragments containing viable microorganisms are often dislodged and collected with the blood specimen. These organisms can contaminate the sample and cause the patient to receive a false-positive result. Decades of research shows that false-positive blood culture results routinely lead to unnecessary and prolonged use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, which can have significant downstream clinical and cost consequences.

Steripath, a sterile vein-to-bottle or vein-to-syringe closed-system device, addresses the issue by diverting and sequestering skin microbes that most commonly cause contamination, helping to ensure specimen integrity and accurate test results.

Steripath has demonstrated clinical and cost-effectiveness in 20 studies, including 7 peer-reviewed publications. Results have demonstrated sustained zero or near-zero blood culture contamination rates, up to a 31% reduction in vancomycin days of therapy, and up to a 12-fold decrease in false-positive CLABSIs.^3-10 This data demonstrating the clinical performance of Steripath affirms that patient harm resulting from false-positive sepsis diagnoses can be prevented.

About Magnolia Medical
Magnolia Medical Technologies develops, manufactures, and markets innovative blood and bodily fluid collection devices to facilitate significant improvements in the accuracy, consistency, and predictability of critical laboratory tests. Magnolia Medical invented and patented the Initial Specimen Diversion Technique (ISDT™) and Device (ISDD®) for blood culture collection and contamination prevention. The company has amassed an intellectual property portfolio, including more than 100 issued method, apparatus, and design patents with more than 70 additional patent applications pending. For more information, visit www.magnolia-medical.com.

About MHA Solutions
The mission of MHA Solutions, a subsidiary of MHA, is to be a premier provider of innovative and effective business solutions for its clients. The staff of MHA Solutions remains focused on its values of integrity, open and honest communication, mutual respect and teamwork, resourceful and responsive service excellence, and accountability.  The goal of MHA Solutions is to provide the best products and services possible for its members and clients, and by doing so increase the amount of non-dues revenue generated by MHA Solutions to support MHA's advocacy and education services to benefit its members. For more information, visit www.mhanet.org.

About HPIC
HPIC is a reciprocal insurance company providing professional liability and worker's compensation insurance to healthcare providers and healthcare systems. HPIC is owned and governed by its subscriber-insureds, and its Board of Directors are all Chief Executive Officers or Administrators of their hospitals. HPIC's Directors bring a unique knowledge and perspective of the healthcare arena to its customer base. HPIC has achieved success through its disciplined underwriting and focus on its claims and risk management services. The company's strategic vision is long-term financial stability, member ownership and governance, and commitment to quality service. For more information, visit https://www.hpico.com/.

References:

1. Indicated to reduce the frequency of blood culture contamination when contaminants are present, compared to standard method controls without diversion.
2. Data on file.
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9. Nielsen LE, Nguyen K, Wahl CK, et al. Initial Specimen Diversion Device® reduces blood culture contamination and vancomycin use in academic medical center. J Hosp Infect. 2021;117. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2021.10.017.
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SOURCE Magnolia Medical Technologies