September 2, 2010 - A single-patient disposable blood pressure cuff that travels with the patient throughout her hospital stay is reducing the risk of spreading infectious disease and decreasing overall costs.
Welch Allyn teamed with Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System to standardize their facilities with the FlexiPort blood pressure cuff. In doing so, the system, which includes the Seattle and American Lake Divisions and all community-based outpatient clinics, will help reduce the risk of spreading infectious disease. The cuffs are designed so they can be assigned to one patient, who can then be connected to virtually any manual or electronic blood pressure device in the facility.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates hospital-acquired infections affect more than 1.7 million U.S. patients annually and cause about 99,000 deaths, resulting in longer hospital visits. In response, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently stated they will no longer reimburse for extended patient visits from certain hospital-acquired infections, putting a strain on the cost of health care.
For more information: www.pugetsound.va.gov, www.welchallyn.com
February 14, 2022 
