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Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) affect an estimated 1.7 million individuals and result in 99,000 deaths annually in American hospitals. With its role in hand washing accepted as perhaps our most reliable means for reducing HAI risk, hospital tap water has also been recognized as a source of such infections. Peer-reviewed literature has demonstrated that hospital tap water contains microbial pathogens, and that biofilm in water systems resists disinfection and delivers pathogenic organisms to the point of care. At-risk patients are susceptible to infection through direct contact, ingestion, and inhalation of waterborne pathogens. Systemic water treatment technologies reduce levels of recognized waterborne pathogens; however, they cannot eradicate biofilm within healthcare facility plumbing. Existing point-of-use (POU) filtration technologies have been reported to interrupt clinical outbreaks of infection due to recognized waterborne pathogens in the health care environment, and can represent a critical component of a comprehensive infection control strategy, particularly when targeted for patients at high risk.

Electronic tracking systems have been commonplace in just about every industry since the 1970s. Virtually every product sold in America has a barcode on it, linking it to a central database so that the product can be easily identified. That is how manufacturers can recall products, from contaminated peanut butter to toxic dog food from store shelves within hours, and trace E. coli-infected spinach to the field in which it was grown. Yet we have no such system for medical devices, including those that are implanted in patients to help keep them alive. Its hard to believe that our country can track the location of dog food better than we can a sophisticated medical device.