GREENVILLE, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A less invasive technology to optimize patient care during surgeries and in intensive care settings has received another major international endorsement for enhancing patient outcomes while also reducing costs.
The UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has found that Deltex Medical's CardioQ™ fluid monitoring technology results in better management of patients, helping speed recovery, improve outcomes and reduce cost.
In issuing its guidance, NICE concluded that widespread use of CardioQ™ could reduce total hospitalizations in England alone by more than 1.6 million days annually and save more than £850 million ($1.4 billion) a year.
"We are very pleased with this guidance because it recognizes that using CardioQ™ to optimize blood flow during surgery results in better patient care with fewer complications, faster recovery and earlier discharge from the hospital," said Ewan Phillips, CEO of Deltex Medical.
"When these improvements on quality measures are combined with significant cost savings, it is clear CardioQ™ merits even greater use in operating rooms throughout the U.S. and around the world," he added.
CardioQ™ uses Doppler technology to precisely measure levels of fluid in surgical and ventilated intensive care patients. Clinician intervention to ensure the right levels of fluid, or fluid optimization, is critical to achieving better patient results in surgeries and intensive care settings.
Prior to CardioQ™, options to assess fluid management were limited to less precise monitoring methods that sometimes fail to prevent or detect problems associated with too little or too much fluid. Similarly more invasive monitoring using a surgically-inserted central catheter can add to the risk of complications during surgery and threats posed by possible infection.
CardioQ™ involves inserting a small Doppler probe into a patient's esophagus through their mouth or nose to actively and accurately measure blood flow and fluid levels in real time so the physician can optimize fluid levels if any problem is detected.
"CardioQ™ provides physicians with a unique way to better understand blood flow in the majority of patients. We no longer have to make educated guesses, and this more precise information enables physicians to optimize all components of blood flow and dramatically improve patient outcomes,” said Dr. Paul Corey, the Director of Cardiovascular Anesthesia at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego. “As a result of CardioQ™, we are recognized as proactive providers of high quality care – a recognition we achieved because of the understanding this technology provides.”
A recent technology assessment by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) also concluded that CardioQ™ leads to significant reductions in complications during surgery as well as a reduction in the hospital length of stay.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) cover use of the technology for all Medicare beneficiaries with a need for intra-operative fluid management and ventilated patients in the Intensive Care Unit, and many commercial insurance plans cover and pay for use of esophageal Doppler monitoring as well. In addition to Sharp HealthCare hospitals, CardioQ™ is being used in a significant number of academic institutions and acute care hospitals throughout the US.
CONTACT:
Deltex Medical
Nick Manetto, 202-312-7499
[email protected]
KEYWORDS: United Kingdom United States Europe North America South Carolina
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Surgery Health Cardiology Hospitals Medical Devices
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