Healthcare waste has the potential to infect hospital
patients, healthcare workers and the general public. While roughly 85% of the
amount of waste generated in the healthcare industry is non-hazardous, the
remaining 15% is hazardous and may be infectious, toxic or radioactive. That’s
according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which cites particular
concern about infection with HIV, hepatitis B and C – only a few of many
possible infectious diseases – for which there is strong evidence of
transmission from improper healthcare waste management.
Obviously, medical personnel, especially in emergency
situations, aren’t always privy to whether or not a patient’s fluids are
infectious, and outdated manual fluid handling methods, which require hand
carrying and emptying filled fluid canisters, present an exposure risk and
potential liability.
Skyline Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: SKLN) is in the market to
buck these risks with its fully automated, patented, FDA-cleared waste fluid
disposal system that virtually eliminates staff exposure to blood, irrigation
fluid and other potentially infectious fluids found in the healthcare
environment.
The company’s STREAMWAY® System fully automates the
collection, measurement and disposal of waste fluids. Aside from providing a
measure of safety against biohazard exposure, the system is designed to: reduce
overhead costs to hospitals and surgical centers; improve compliance with
Occupational State and Health Association (OSHA) and other regulatory agency
safety guidelines; improve efficiency in the operating room, and radiology and
endoscopy departments; and help eliminate the approximately 50 million
potentially disease-infected canisters dumped into U.S. landfills each year.
Installed in or on the wall, STREAMWAY features an
illuminated touch screen that provides the user control over surgical suction
levels and displays automated measurement of volumes. The single patient
procedure filter and tissue trap both prevent cross contamination and allow for
tissue retrieval. When it comes time to clean up, the user detaches the filter,
connects the cleaning solution bottle, and activates the five-minute clean
cycle using the touch screen.
In one case study, STREAMWAY user Fran Hahn, BSN, RN, CNOR
at Huntingdon Valley Surgery Center in Pennsylvania stated, “I cringe when I
have to do an arthroscopic procedure in one of the rooms without STREAMWAY.
It’s so much easier and safer to use than canisters.”
Read the entire cast study here:
http://www.skylinemedical.com/wp-content/uploads/STREAMWAY_CaseStudy_HuntingdonValleySC.pdf
Unlike Hahn’s experience, Skyline has found that the
majority of radiology and imaging rooms, in particular, are not even aware that
automated fluid disposal technology exists. To counter this finding, Skyline
recently partnered with the Association for Radiologic & Imaging Nursing
(“ARIN”) to market Skyline products and services to medical professionals
performing paracentesis and thoracentesis procedures.
“Our research has shown that most radiology and imaging
rooms do not currently use, nor are they aware of automated fluid disposal
technology, despite the major potential safety and cost benefits. As it is the
nurses and technologists that often perform these procedures and can help
influence purchasing decisions, we expect our partnership with ARIN to create
new sales opportunities,” Josh Kornberg, president and CEO of Skyline, stated
in the news release announcing the partnership.
As an ARIN sponsor, Skyline has access to nurses in the
imaging and radiology space, and, on April 3, will have the opportunity to
attend the ARIN Spring Convention in Vancouver, where the company’s sales
representatives will demonstrate Skyline products to nurses, technologists and
other industry decision makers.
In the first nine months of 2015, Skyline shipped and sold
15 of its STREAMWAY Systems, and by November had initiated 12 new trials of the
system in eight different U.S. states. From past experience, the company’s
trial strategy yields significant success.
“Our sales strategy encourages hospital and surgical centers
to trial the STREAMWAY, as we are confident that the unique benefits of our
exposure prevention system will be quickly recognized throughout the
facilities. This approach has proven to be successful with our trial-to-sale
conversion rate standing at an impressive 98%,” Kornberg stated. “There are
currently more than 48 hospital and surgical centers using our STREAMWAY System
in the United States. We are looking to rapidly expand our customer base
through the implementation of an aggressive sales and marketing strategy over
the next year, which will include a dedicated salesforce and a network of
distributors.”
This “aggressive sales and marketing strategy” includes
international expansion, and Skyline has started the process of filing
international patent applications in Canada and select European countries for
the technologies and processes applied in the STREAMWAY System.
For its domestic focus, Skyline is gaining mounting
confidence in the capability and acceptance of its technology.
“Our success selling to major hospitals indicates that
medical centers are shifting away from, and we are displacing, alternative
fluid management solutions that have been in place for many years. For us to
have achieved this, despite our limited sales and marketing capabilities, truly
validates the quality and effectiveness of the STREAMWAY™ System. The STREAMWAY
is currently installed in a wide variety of procedure rooms, including surgery,
interventional radiology and endoscopy suites, demonstrating very significant
market potential for the product. Moreover, we are starting to see repeat
orders from some of these customers,” Kornberg stated in a previous news
release.
As more medical facilities are seeing, STREAMWAY eliminates
one of the most dangerous aspects of being a healthcare professional: handling
surgical fluid canisters and their contents. With rising market acceptance,
Skyline continues to focus on establishing STREAMWAY as the premier surgical
fluid disposal device, providing an unprecedented standard of safety,
efficiency and environmental benefits for hospitals and surgical centers
worldwide.
For more information, visit www.skylinemedical.com
MissionIR is committed to connecting the investment community with companies that have great potential and a strong dedication to building shareholder value. We know our reputation is based on the integrity of our clients and go to great lengths to ensure the companies represented adhere to sound business practices.
Sign up for “The Mission Report” at www.MissionIR.com
Please see disclaimer on the MissionIR website http://www.missionir.com/disclaimer.html
