Last month we asked our readers and visitors to our web site what products and concepts they wish would be developed to help them in their role as blood collection personnel. We provided a list of 14 possibilities and asked them to pick their top five. We also gave them an opportunity to propose other products and concepts that were not on our list. For the purpose of this report, we found it interesting that managers, educators and front line healthcare professionals had different preferences.

Three products/concepts were in the top five for all three: a device that eliminates hemolysis, a site prep solution that both cleanses and anesthetizes the site, and gloves that don't feel like you're wearing gloves.

Managers' top five: 

1. a device that eliminates hemolysis---73.7% 
2. a device that makes it impossible to misidentify a patient or mislabel a tube---68.4% 
3. a site prep solution that not only cleanses the site, but instantly anesthetizes the skin, making every blood draw painless---63.2% 
4. gloves that don't feel like I'm wearing gloves when I palpate for veins---57.9% 
5. a device that eliminates blood culture contamination---36.8%  

Educators' top five: 

1. a device that eliminates hemolysis---88.9% 
2. a device or method that improves patient comfort and satisfaction---66.7% 
3. a device or feature that eliminates accidental needlesticks during phlebotomy---66.7% 
4. gloves that don't feel like I'm wearing gloves when I palpate for veins---66.7% 
5. a site prep solution that not only cleanses the site, but instantly anesthetizes the skin, making every blood draw painless---44.4% 

Front line healthcare professionals' top five: 

1. a site prep solution that not only cleanses the site, but instantly anesthetizes the skin, making every blood draw painless---69.8% 
2. a device or method that improves patient comfort and satisfaction---56.6% 
3. gloves that don't feel like I'm wearing gloves when I palpate for veins---50.9% 
4. a device that reduces back strain caused by bending over to draw blood---45.3% 
5. a device that eliminates hemolysis---43.4% 

Here are some interesting suggestions participants offered that were not on our list: 

• A device to help identify the difference between a vein and a tendon
• A needle system that auto retracts the needle like the butterfly sets
• A supervisor that listens
• Something easier that takes the place of blood cultures
• a device to hold pressure on the draw site for the appropriate length of time
• there needs to be a chair product for children that will not only help them maintain stillness of their arm but will be effective with distracting them and must be comfortable and not too restrictive for the rest of their body. Some adults may benefit from this as well
• A good lab computer program that would consolidate a patients lab draws would be great. Often times we are sticking patients 2 or 3 times in 4 hour period due to draws being ordered at different times
• Anything to improve my patient care
• A better way to do PKUs
• Wider tourniquets so they don't end up like a rubber band on extra-large arms
• a device that comes out of the vein already sheathed whether by accident (patient moves) or by design (end of draw).

Other comments:

• A lot of these "futuristic" products are already available, we just need to be able to prepare a business case that is likely to be accepted by our CEOs in a limiting economic environment.
• Contamination rate is higher in the ED. Would be nice if they could follow procedure and get the rate <3%
• Time management of staff
• How about prepping something with the tubes you need and then performing the venipuncture and the tubes fill up one after the other in correct order of draw without you removing and replacing tubes minimizing needle movement - and of course done quickly and painlessly :-)