Verathon Offers CAUTI Prevention Educational Materials

Verathon Inc. announces the availability of new free, online CAUTI prevention educational materials for healthcare providers at http://verathon.com/products/bladderscan/cauti-zero.

These comprehensive materials include an easy-to-remember CAUTI bundle in poster and animated form; instructional videos with Diane Newman, an expert on urinary issues; an interactive timeline with facts and figures on CAUTI; and additional downloadable educational materials for use by those working to lower and eliminate catheter-associated UTIs in their facilities.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the direct medical costs of treating healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in the United States is as high as $45 billion per year. Catheter-associated UTIs, the most common HAI, represent 36 percent of the total number of HAIs.  Because CAUTIs have been a prevalent patient safety issue, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in October 2008 issued a new regulation to end reimbursement for the additional costs incurred from preventable CAUTI. 

"The Joint Commission has made CAUTIs a 2012 National Patient Safety Goal," says CAUTI expert Diane K. Newman, DNP FAAN BCB-PMD.  "Increasing awareness of best practices for minimizing catheterization and ensuring early Foley catheter removal clearly helps promote safe patient care, while reducing costs from unnecessary catheter-associated UTIs."

To help nurses meet this National Patient Safety Goal, Verathon is providing the following free educational tools online to help raise awareness about CAUTI prevention practices:
- Whitepaper: This updated version of "Removing Indwelling Catheters in Acute Care: A Step-By-Step Clinical Pathway for Nurses" by Diane K. Newman provides the most current evidence-based clinical information on managing Foley catheters. Available at UroToday and http://verathon.com/products/bladderscan/cauti-zero.
- CAUTI Bundle Poster: Designed for staff lounges and nursing stations, this eye-catching poster displays a CAUTI bundle checklist in five memorable steps. Downloadable PDF available at UroToday and http://verathon.com/products/bladderscan/cauti-zero.
- CAUTI Bundle Checklist (animated): This animated version of the checklist is perfect for presentations to staff on CAUTI elimination best practices. Available at http://verathon.com/products/bladderscan/cauti-zero.
- CAUTI Interactive Timeline: This compelling "CAUTI Chronology" offers a decade of fast facts in the fight against CAUTI. Downloadable PDF available at UroToday and http://verathon.com/products/bladderscan/cauti-zero.
- Demonstration Videos: Learn how to measure bladder volume with the BladderScan portable ultrasound device in these three patient demonstration videos presented by Newman. Now showing on YouTube, UroToday and http://verathon.com/products/bladderscan/cauti-zero.
- Acute Care Manual: "Managing Urinary Retention in the Acute Care Setting" is a comprehensive guide to safe patient care through the application of noninvasive bladder management. Available at http://verathon.com/products/bladderscan/cauti-zero.

Verathon and UroToday, a global urological disease-focused online resource, launched the CAUTI Center in December 2009 to provide access to the latest commentary from CAUTI expert Diane Newman, as well as recent publications and experiences from those in the CAUTI treatment community. Today, that center, now known as The CAUTI Challenge, has become a definitive source of CAUTI prevention information for practitioners.

"UroToday is extremely proud of The CAUTI Challenge effort," says Gina Carithers, CEO of UroToday and publisher of UroToday International Journal. "UroToday, Diane Newman and the team at BladderScan, are steadfastly committed to providing the best educational tools to assist healthcare professionals in reducing, and ultimately eliminating, dangerous and costly catheter-associated urinary tract infections."