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| KCI's V.A.C. system--Courtesy of KCI |
Kinetic Concepts continues its reinvention with the knowledge that it must show its products can save the healthcare system money and not just treat patients. The realities of the Affordable Care Act and cost controls in systems around the world demand nothing less. And so the Texas devicemaker is touting the results of a new independent study that shows its wound-healing therapy system reduces operating room visits and hospital stays compared to the competition.
KCI said that a recent independent, retrospective study showed its V.A.C. VeraFlo Therapy using the company's V.A.C. Ulta negative pressure wound therapy system helped lead to fewer operating room visits and lessened the time patients needed to stay in the hospital versus traditional vacuum assisted closure therapy. Details are published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
KCI's VeraFlo device adds instillation therapy to negative wound pressure therapy, and the company said the results showed that the enhanced treatment produced better results. The study involved 142 patients with infected wounds that required hospitalization and a series of surgical treatments, and so additional clinical trials would be needed to use the findings to propel a change in the standard of care. But KCI said the advance points toward that eventual outcome.
"As the rate of diabetes, obesity and vascular diseases continues to rise, this research suggests that V.A.C. VeraFlo Therapy has the potential to help significantly improve the patient experience and reduce the cost of care associated with lengthy hospital stays, multiple OR visits and additional procedures," KCI President and CEO Joe Woody said in a statement.
KCI, owned by Apax Partners since 2011, is trying to reinvent itself as a megacompany focused on wound care, biologics and regenerative medicine. Last fall, it reorganized and absorbed regenerative medicine outfit LifeCell (a 2008 acquisition) and wound-healing company Systagenix (a 2013 buy) into one corporate entity. KCI has eliminated hundreds of jobs and brought in new leadership to execute its strategy.
- read the release
- here's the journal abstract