Cook Medical, Cardinal Health partner to distribute CVC procedural kits in North America

Cardinal Health and Cook Medical today announced a two-year, exclusive agreement for the North American distribution of Cook Medical central venous catheter (CVC) sets with Cardinal Health Presource® customizable procedural kits ─ providing clinicians with advanced technology the flexibility of customization for their vascular access needs.

Under the agreement, Cardinal Health and Cook Medical customers are now able to customize components of their CVC procedural kits. The kits can include either uncoated or Cook Spectrum® CVC sets, which feature the industry's highest flow rates and a comprehensive product line including power-injectable catheters. The partnership enables acute care providers to maximize value and minimize waste by providing a cost-effective means to decrease the number of supplies they need to supplement standard CVC procedural kits.

"We're thrilled to partner with Cardinal Health, an industry leader in custom kitting, to expand access to Cook Medical's CVC sets for vascular access professionals," said Dan Sirota, vice president and business unit leader of Cook Medical's Critical Care and Interventional Radiology divisions. "Improving patient care and lowering health care costs are of utmost importance to hospitals. We remain committed to offering solutions that streamline processes for clinicians and empower them to provide top-quality patient care."

Cook Medical's Spectrum catheters are impregnated with the antibiotics minocycline and rifampin and meet the newly released 1A recommendation from the CDC for reducing catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) if maximal sterile barrier precautions haven't helped a facility reach its [infection prevention] goal. An estimated 78,000 patients are infected with potentially fatal CRBSIs in the U.S. annually, with an average cost estimated at $16,550 per infection. Spectrum catheters have been shown to be five times less likely to produce infection than process alone.

"Cardinal Health focuses on developing partnerships that deliver innovative solutions that help make it easier for our customers to deliver high quality care," said Lisa Ashby, president of category management at Cardinal Health. "Our relationship with Cook Medical is a great example of the kinds of partnerships our customers value - those that promote best practice standardization with superior quality products."