Tell us about Bluestream manufacturing’s offerings for the healthcare sector?
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Rachana Kulkarni
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Bluestream specialises in infection control programmes for all the verticals of the industry. For Bluestream, healthcare industry is very important but not confined to it. Health is important to an individual whether he is at a shopping mall, at school, at work or the food that an individual eats and much more. Infections are not only acquired in the hospitals, they are community acquired too.
We offer total solutions from skin care point of view for the healthcare sector. We represent GOJO Industries Inc in India. GOJO are the inventors of Purell, worlds leading hand sanitiser brand. We believe that formulation of a good hand sanitiser plays a very important role in the efficacy of the hand sanitiser. Having taken efficacy (99.99 per cent germ kill from Purell) for granted, it should be gentle to the hands and should be formulated for repeated use without causing dryness to skin, any skin irritations, or any sticky feeling on the hand. Purell offers all of the above and more with a fragrance free formula as you are supposed to use it multiple times a day!
How have they been instrumental in curbing infection in healthcare set ups?
Our dispensing systems are such that all our manual systems are guaranteed for performance for life. We guarantee our dispensing systems for ‘No drip, No leak, No breakage’, and our refills being sanitary sealed do not get contaminated even over a period of time. Therefore, any of our product – whether it is a hand sanitiser, or a soap or an antibacterial soap maintains its efficacy throughout the shelf life of the product.
Soap falls on the sink and accumulates bacteria if there is a leak or a drip in the dispenser. If there is a bulk pour system (which is definitely not advisable in a healthcare setting) the bacteria accumulate in the dispenser itself thereby deceiving the purpose of washing hands.
We know a hand hygiene infection control programme designed to achieve these two things will yield better patient outcomes. At GOJO we aim to simplify hand hygiene compliance by delivering a hand hygiene programme that leverages best practices based on research.
Throughout our history, we have partnered with healthcare facilities to focus on four critical components of an effective infection control programme:
- Educating healthcare workers, patients, and visitors on how, when and why to practice good hand hygiene
- Making products that are easy to use and readily accessible for healthcare workers, patients and visitors
- Developing products that healthcare workers will want to use and that are proven to help drive compliance
- Monitoring and measuring hand hygiene compliance
By continuously working with healthcare facilities to identify easier ways to deliver optimal infection control and improve skin health, GOJO is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of hand sanitising, handwashing, hand moisturising and patient care solutions for the healthcare industry.
What are the company’s plans for this segment in the coming fiscal?
We plan to raise the standards while watching the bottom line: Making a case for infection control. It is imperative that the focus is on patient safety but our product implementation in a hospital should be able to reduce the present cost incurred. Our clients can ask us for special programmes on infection control to be conducted free of cost in their hospitals during the HBII 2013 show. Also, our clients can log on to www.bluestream.net.in for special offers and discounts.
How long have you been associated with HBII, how has it evolved over the years?
We have been associated with HBII since the inception of HBII in 2010. We had participated in HBII at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai grounds with a very small stall at that point of time. HBII has evolved into a mature exhibition over a period of time and is very specific a B2B show. We have been seeing clients who have come into HBII without fail every year besides new clients every year. This shows that the exhibition definitely offers a good value-add to the doctors/ individuals/ corporate who have their own hospitals, or a part of a chain of hospitals.
What is your agenda for HBII 2013, are you launching any new products at the event?
We will be launching Purell Smart Link programme with Purell Advanced and Bluestream Personal wash cloths at this event. It is a programme which electronically monitors hand hygiene. Bluestream Personal wash cloths are manufactured in India especially to cater to the needs of the bed ridden patients. It is a very carefully formulated product which helps maintain the skin integrity, thus preventing infections.
What insights do you expect to gather from HBII 2013?
We have been fairly present in the West of India, but have not touched the North. We expect to understand the expectations of the healthcare industry in the North better and offer optimal solutions to them to the best of our ability.
What are the unique advantages and challenges in the Indian healthcare market for a company like Bluestream Manufacturing?
Our soap formulations are meant for repetitive use and they are biodegradable. We are probably one of the few companies in the world who carry the Ecologo and the Green Seal Certificate on our Soaps. We also have a Green formulation for Purell.
Acceptance of the fact that infection control is an issue itself about eight years ago when we started was one of the biggest challenge, besides other small hindrances in making the product available to making the customer see value in bringing about a change from the present system to Purell. Today, with the awareness, at least, all of us have started accepting that infection control is a cause for concern.
The unique advantages of Purell formulation is that it gives you a very high efficacy in a very small volume of the hand sanitiser, without being causing a sticky feeling or dryness to the skin. Purell has been the leaders in the hand hygiene segment in the west for the last 60 years. We would like to bring the advantages of the Purell efficacy for our healthcare professionals.
There’s a perception that all instant hand sanitisers are created equal. It’s just not true. While some suggest that a high level of alcohol is the key to a higher level of efficacy, science indicates otherwise. Alcohol, in fact, reaches a point of diminishing return at higher levels.1, 2, 3 and too much can be hard on skin. In reality, it’s actually the total formulation that truly determines efficacy. As a company dedicated to the science of skin care, we knew we could formulate a product that delivered unprecedented efficacy in a skin-friendly formulation without excessive alcohol. And we did. The result is a product that ounce for ounce outperforms other hand sanitizers and kills 99.99 per cent of bacteria on hands, for not just in the lab, while maintaining skin health.
One of very common questions asked to us was whether CHG is a must in the hand sanitiser. Our studies show that When tested under realistic conditions, CHG does not continue to kill bacteria after product use.
For more information, please visit our booth no. 7F21 at HBII 2013 or you can write in to us at info@bluestream.net.in