Vial-Bag Plus
Re-imagining a simple solution to a real problem
What it is:
A Vial-Bag Plus device is a simple adapter that directly connects a vial to an IV bag.
The benefit:
The device allows a practitioner to reconstitute and dilute a medication from a vial right into the IV bag without additional punctures or manipulations.
This minimizes any needle prick injuries, minimizes risk of contamination, ensures sterility compliance, and reduces costs by reducing the number of components.
What makes it better:
What makes this unique are the clips on the vial side and IV bag side that keep the system in place once connected. The device is simple, intuitive, clips easily without strain, and more cost effective than any other system on the market.
Key takeaways:
1) Safer option for nursing staff and healthcare providers versus traditional needles, syringes and mixing
2) Safer option for patients versus pre-batched and traditional forms of mixing due to reduced risks of contamination
3) More cost-effective solution than traditional mixing, batching, or outsourcing pre-prepared admixtures
How Vial-Bag Plus Reduces Costs
Fewer components = less cost:
The Vial-Bag Plus system replaces the need of the following components:
1) Vials of sterile water for injection or saline that are used for reconstitution
2) Syringes
3) Needles
Fewer steps = less cost:
Savings for nursing:
- Fewer components to gather
- Fewer manipulations prior to administration
Savings for pharmacy:
- Reduce need to prepare batches of admixtures in advance
- Reduce need to monitor and manage stock of short dated product
- Reduce risk of expired admixtures
Fewer injuries = less cost:
Nursing:
- Fewer punctures and manipulations
Pharmacy:
- Less need to prepare batches
- Fewer risk of needle stick injuries
- Reduced risk of repetitive strain injuries
No batching, testing, outsourcing required:
Since the drug is not mixed until it is ready to administer, there isn’t a need to test sterility prior to administration or to extend Beyond Use Dating.
Additionally, this system eliminates the need for batching in advance or outsourcing costly admixtures.
The cost to avoid batching, maintaining robust in house sterility programs or outsourcing pre-prepared admixtures would significantly reduce the financial burden on any organization.
How Vial-Bag Plus Provides Greater Safety
Reduced needle stick injuries:
The Vial-Bag Plus reduces needle injuries 2 ways:
1) It reduces the number of punctures and manipulations required to reconstitute and dilute a drug. Each step highlighted in red is a potential risk of injury or contamination.
2) The only sharp component of the device is protected by barriers to minimize risk of a finger prick.
Reduced contamination:
At multiple steps of the traditional method, a syringe, needle, vial, or bag needs to be handled and manipulated. Each time one of those items are manipulated, it introduces a risk for contamination.
Fewer steps in the process and fewer manipulations inherently reduce risk of contamination.
USP 797 compliance:
As regional regulations continue to enforce Beyond Use Dating in compliance with USP 797 and other regional guidelines, hospitals, pharmacies and clinics face a greater strain in either maintaining robust sterility programs or prepare more frequent batches with shorter dating.
This can place a significant burden to pharmacy operations and add significant costs to the programs and the institution.
By mixing the drug using the Vial-Bag Plus when the drug is needed, the need for sterility testing or extended Beyond Use Dating is eliminated.
With this tool, patience will receive a mixed, ready to use medication without the operational burden using the traditional methods.
simplify it further
In addition to the device, we work with partners to offer the flexibility to receive a kit with the drug itself. This removes uncertainty and second guessing and offers a ready to use kit at the point of care.
Reach out to us to explore how we can make something custom to meet your practice needs.