B. Braun Announces Comprehensive Resources to Address Health Inequities in Vascular Access and Care

BETHLEHEM, PA – October 13, 2023 – B. Braun Medical Inc. (B. Braun), a leader in smart infusion therapy and pain management, announced today at the Association for Vascular Access (AVA) Scientific Meeting its expanded focus on addressing health inequities in vascular access and continued commitment to improve patients’ experiences with peripheral intravenous (IV) therapy through a multifaceted approach focused on education, training and advancing standards of care.

Peripheral vascular access is a critical component of patient care and the most common invasive procedure performed in healthcare,¹ with more than 300 million peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVC) sold annually in the United States.² However, the experience of receiving an IV is not the same for all patients.³ In a study of over 100,000 emergency department (ED) patients, the rate of difficult intravenous access (DIVA) was 58% higher for Black patients compared to White patients.³

“At B. Braun, we believe a person’s race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status or other difference should not affect their ability to be treated appropriately for their individual characteristics and specific health needs,” said Angela Karpf, M.D., Corporate Vice President of Medical Affairs. “That’s why we are developing innovative programs and technologies to improve health outcomes and are working with leading healthcare organizations, including AVA, to advocate for improved standards of care for all patients, particularly in the delivery of vascular access care.” 

“The disparities that exist in vascular access care are deeply rooted, and addressing those inequities requires a range of programs and services,” said Stephanie Pitts, DNP, RN, CPN, VA-BC, NEA-BC, Sr. Director, Strategy – Therapy Solutions & Programs at B. Braun. “Our Peripheral Advantage® Program is a key part of the comprehensive approach developed by B. Braun to provide clinicians with the tools and training they need to deliver safe and consistent peripheral IV care,” she added. 

Addressing Disparities and Health Inequity in Vascular Access 

The Peripheral Advantage Program is designed to optimize clinical skills and product performance for better clinical outcomes. Real-time data is collected throughout the program to provide baseline and ongoing insights and analytics to healthcare leadership to help gauge the program’s impact on areas including patient satisfaction, first-stick success, PIVC catheter dwell time and overall cost containment. The program helps to standardize and improve PIVC insertion best practices by equipping clinicians with the training, tools and data-informed insights they need to address disparities in PIVC care and elevate the standard of care. 
 

Curriculum Addressing Inequities

Ensuring that the education curriculum reflects what clinicians will encounter in clinical practice was identified as a potential challenge, as evidenced by a recent study that noted an omission of images showing dark skin tones in medical and nursing educational resources (i.e. textbooks) and the concern that this may lead to healthcare provider bias.⁴ To help address health inequity in vascular access, B. Braun offers a Fundamentals IV eLearning course that supports clinicians' knowledge and understanding of important topics related to peripheral IV catheterization, including addressing health inequity in vascular access, and how to systematically apply well-established care approaches designed to improve patient care, achieve best practices and promote patient safety.
 

Diversity in Training

Access to training tools that better reflect real-world experience is crucial in the education and training of nurses. B. Braun has incorporated the RediStik® Wearable PIV Trainer,⁵ which includes light and dark skin tones for realistic, simulated PIVC insertions and helps bring diversity into B. Braun’s PIVC education program. RediStik Simulation Training tools were the inspiration of an Advanced Practice Nurse who wanted to create more cost-effective, realistic and wearable simulation trainers to help nurses progress through more difficult training scenarios and prepare them to deliver optimal IV insertions to support patient care.
 

Advancing the Standards of Care for All Patients

In addition to providing innovative vascular access and IV systems that are designed to work together, healthcare providers can access VeinViewer®, a device distributed by B. Braun, which uses near-infrared light (NiR) to provide clinicians with an accurate view of patients’ veins, regardless of skin tone. Collectively, the tools and the education seek to reduce the number of PIVC insertion attempts a patient receives during a given therapy, thus helping to improve patient experience and outcomes.
 

Outcomes Data

As part of the Peripheral Advantage Program, B. Braun partners with healthcare organizations to collect real-time data to provide baseline and ongoing insights and analytics so healthcare organizations can know how they are performing across all patients and skin tones. Through the program, healthcare organizations can evaluate its impact on patient experience, first-stick success, IV catheter dwell time and overall cost containment.
 

Driving a Dialogue at AVA’s Scientific Meeting

B. Braun is pleased that health equity will be among the topics discussed at AVA’s Scientific meeting, including a General Session: Things Aren't Always Black & White: 2023 State of the PIVC Address scheduled for Saturday, October 14 at 10 am P.T.

About B. Braun

B. Braun Medical Inc. (B. Braun) is a leader in smart infusion therapy and safe and effective pharmacy products, patient and provider safety, and sustainable health solutions. Our purpose is to help providers constantly improve patient satisfaction and outcomes. With products and services created to help healthcare professionals focus on what matters most—their patients—we’re uniquely positioned to help health systems succeed now and in the future. B. Braun is headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and is part of the B. Braun Group of Companies in the U.S., which includes B. Braun Interventional Systems, Aesculap® and CAPS®. The company employs 8,500 people at over 30 locations across North America. 

Globally, the B. Braun Group of Companies employs more than 64,000 employees in 64 countries. Guided by its Sharing Expertise® philosophy, B. Braun continuously exchanges knowledge with customers, partners and clinicians to address the critical issues of improving care and lowering costs. To learn more about B. Braun Medical, explore our website.