A Medical Device Daily

Patient Safety Technologies (Los Angeles) reported that SurgiCount Medical (Temecula, California), the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, has received a $2 million purchase order from its national exclusive distribution partner of the Safety-Sponge System.

The Safety-Sponge system uses data matrix tagged bulk and sterile gauze sponges in combination with line-of-sight scanning technology. The system is designed to allow nurses to physically track and account for the individual sponges through an entire surgical procedure.

SurgiCount Medical is a developer and manufacturer of patient safety products and services including the Safety-Sponge System. The Safety-Sponge System works much like a grocery store check-out system. Every surgical sponge and towel is pre-labeled by the manufacturer with an individual and unique bar coded label, and a scanning counter is used to read and record the labels.

Patient Safety Technologies operates as a holding company with separate operating businesses and separate CEOs running each business. The flagship of those businesses is SurgiCount Medical, along with many minority investments in public and private companies.

In other grants/contracts news, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt awarded $4 million to the state of Texas to fund implementation of new ways to improve Medicaid efficiency, economy and quality of care. The funds are part of $103 million awarded to 27 states across the nation.

States will use the funds to implement systems to get more value out of the money they spend providing healthcare to their low-income elderly, children and disabled citizens. In Texas, the funds will be used to support the Electronic Health Passport for Foster Care project.

Congress approved a total of $150 million for these Medicaid “transformation grants” in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) to be distributed over fiscal years 2007 and 2008. The award of the first $103 million will be followed later in the year with a second solicitation for the remaining $47 million. States will receive the funds over the next two years.