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The BD Nexiva Closed IV Catheter System helps lower the risk of patient infection by reducing the potential for fluid pathway contamination. Patient safety has been a focus of BD's innovation for years, not only in the U.S. but around the world. For example, BD in China launched an integrated catheter design that for the last several years has been one of the Company's most successful products in the Asia-Pacific region. The product signifi-cantly improved medical practice in China. Additional features have now been added and the product has evolved into the BD Nexiva Closed IV Catheter System (CIVCS). Great ideas can–and do–come from everywhere.     BD is enhancing its leadership in patient safety with several current initiatives. Patient safety is a growing concern throughout the European community and most major world markets. Many quality-based standards organizations are adding patient safety to healthcare performance measures.     Bloodstream contamination introduced through IV therapy is of particular concern. IV lines must be constantly maintained to guard against bacteria and viruses when administering a drug, cleaning the system or withdrawing blood. Open IV systems can temporarily expose the patient to airborne contaminants. In Europe and Japan, many systems are permanently open, putting patients at greater risk. In addition to closing the fluid path, the BD Nexiva CIVCS incorporates BD sharp needle technology and a patented cannula tipping process to help reduce the pain of insertion. The risk of other patient complications–vein irritation and phlebitis–may be lowered because design features reduce the need for manipulation at the insertion site. Breakthrough products such as the BD Nexiva CIVCS help to improve healthcare worker safety through integrated sharps safety features.     The BD PosiFlush prefilled syringe is another significant innovation in IV therapy. The BD PosiFlush saline syringe is the first syringe specifically designed with unique features to enhance catheter maintenance protocols. Available with normal saline and heparin lock solutions, all BD PosiFlush prefilled syringes are latex and preservative-free, color-coded for easy identification, and designed to significantly reduce blood reflux and its associated complications.     In another major area of patient safety–reducing errors in specimen collection and management–the BD.id Patient Identification System has been implemented by Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut. The hospital chose the BD.id system based on its simplicity and its ability to minimize medical risk and address all potential failure points. The other two hospitals that have implemented the BD.id system–The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey and South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta, Georgia–achieved close to a 100 percent reduction in specimen collection errors.     Recognizing the importance of hand hygiene, BD plays another role in patient safety by being the largest single-source provider of surgical hand antiseptic products, including BD E-Z Care Rinseless, Brushless Antiseptic. The BD Q-Syte Closed Luer Access device is an IV access site that eliminates the need for needles and can also help prevent bloodstream infections through contamination of IV lines. BD PosiFlush Prefilled Saline and Heparin Lock Flush syringes help protect both patient and healthcare worker and are the first delivery devices that BD is both manufacturing and filling. The BD.id Patient Identification System–the first to fully integrate bar-coding technology with specimen collection standards– is in its first in-hospital applications. Each year, nearly 2 million patients in the U.S. contract an infection while in a hospital. Of these, nearly 90,000 die as a result of their infections. BD seeks to reduce risks to patients and ensure that more people are sent home healthy. Unlike anything else on the market, the BD Nexiva Closed IV Catheter System (CIVCS) has the potential to change the way infusion therapy is delivered and to improve safety for patients as well as healthcare workers in hospital and nonacute care settings. The BD Nexiva CIVCS helps lower the risk of patient infection by reducing the potential for fluid pathway contamination. For healthcare workers, it reduces exposure to blood. It also provides them greater convenience and efficiency because it is the first system to integrate three separate IV components into a single, preassembled device.