If you’ve ever had to deal with someone who has “difficult” veins, you know that a simple act like drawing blood can turn into quite an ordeal. Patients sometimes need to be stuck with a needle multiple times before an adequate vein is found, and when small children are involved, the results can be downright traumatic.
However, a study conducted by Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City shows that with the use of vein-detecting devices this problem can be alleviated.
VeinViewer Study
The VeinViewer is one such product that uses near-infrared light to illuminate veins under a patient’s skin to help medical professionals improve surface vein access. It projects the image directly onto the surface of the skin in real time.
Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City analyzed 210 patients in the center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to evaluate the impact of the VeinViewer on unnecessary PICC replacements and the number of attempts to insert peripheral intravenous (PIV) catheters.
Prior to the study, the NICU department recorded an average of 5.2 IV sticks per child, with some even in double-digit attempts. The number of unnecessary PICCs was one for every 13 patients.
After using the VeinViewer, the number of IV sticks per child dropped to 3.1, and the number of unnecessary PICCs decreased to one for every 25 patients.
Other similar devices include the AccuVein AV400 which also produces a vasculature map on the surface of the skin, and the Veinlite, which produces a ring of bright light that illuminates the superficial tissues inside the ring. The veins show as dark lines within the illuminated area.
Patient Satisfaction and the Afforable Care Act
With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, medical professionals have even more incentive to use devices that improve patient care. One provision of the Affordable Care Act ties patient satisfaction to hospital reimbursement and vein-viewing devices like those above are helping to win praise from patients.
The new rule mandates that Medicare reward hospitals with the highest patient satisfaction through an initiative called the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program. Although patients aren’t directly asked about IV placement or sticks, they are asked about pain control and their overall satisfaction with care received.
The VeinViewer and similar devices seem to be gaining ground in the hospital setting. Revenue at Christie Medical Holdings, owner of the VeinViewer, gained 65 percent in 2012 compared to the previous year.
Value-Based Purchasing
Companies selling devices that increase satisfaction and efficiency in health care can likely expect continued growth in the future as well.
Value-based purchasing more actively engages health care purchasers in the purchasing process. Instead of simply writing checks, purchasers are now attempting to measure, monitor, and improve the quality for every dollar spent. Devices that increase patient satisfaction are a large component of this.
Do you have any experience using the VeinViewer or having it used on you? Do you feel it improves patient satisfaction? If you’re an M.D. or D.O., please join us inside Sermo for further discussion.
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