Quality & Track Record — Northern Lights Medical

Why the record holds

Quality is a process, not a promise.

A malposition-free record across 17+ consecutive quarters doesn't happen by luck. It happens because the same disciplines run on every single placement.

Imaging on every line

No placement is released for use until tip position is confirmed by X-ray. Not most lines — every line, every shift, every facility.

Specialists, not generalists

Our clinicians place lines all day, every day. Volume builds judgment — the difficult stick at 2 AM gets the same steady hands as the routine morning placement.

Documented, auditable

Every procedure is logged with full placement detail. Quarterly quality data is available to facility leadership — the record is open because the record is good.

Continuity

A decade of renewals says more than any pitch.

Northern Lights Medical has served hospital systems in central Indiana continuously since 2015 — through census surges, staffing crunches, and a pandemic. Our longest-running facility relationship is now in its second decade, and our financials are audited across 11+ consecutive years.

✓Multi-year contracts that renew — hospital partnerships measured in years and renewals, not pilots.

✓Continuous service since 2015 — no gaps, no exits, no rebrands.

✓References available — facility leadership references provided directly during contracting conversations.

Industry context

What zero malpositions means against the published numbers.

Quality claims only mean something next to a benchmark. Here is ours, next to the literature.

Published malposition rates: ~7–10%

Large published bedside PICC series report initial malposition rates of roughly 7–10% on confirmatory imaging — and far higher for unguided legacy technique. Our record across 17+ consecutive quarters: zero. (Sources: Song & Li, 3,012-patient series, 2013; published bedside outcome series.)

Specialist teams outperform

A 2024 systematic review in BMJ Open found vascular access specialist teams associated with higher first-attempt success, higher overall insertion success, and fewer catheter-associated adverse events versus standard practice. That evidence base is our entire business model.

Ultrasound guidance, every time

Meta-analyses show ultrasound-guided insertion significantly reduces complications versus blind puncture, with first-attempt success around 96% versus ~86% for traditional technique. There is no blind puncture at Northern Lights — guidance is the standard, not an upgrade.

The insertion standard

The bundle that runs on every placement.

1Line-necessity check — is this the right device for the ordered therapy? If a midline serves the order better than a PICC (per appropriateness frameworks like MAGIC), we say so before placing.

2Maximal sterile barrier precautions — full barrier setup and skin antisepsis on every insertion, consistent with current infusion-therapy standards of practice.

3Ultrasound-guided venipuncture — vessel selection and access under ultrasound on every placement, including the fragile-vessel and multiple-failed-attempt patients.

4Imaging tip confirmation before release — the line is not available for use until tip position is confirmed. This step is why the malposition row on our quarterly report reads zero.

5Complete documentation + unit handoff — technique, attempts, catheter details and lot, confirmation result, complications. Charted per your facility's procedure; handed off to your nurse in person.

Oversight

Reporting your quality committee can use.

Quarterly reports

Volume, success rates, malpositions, and complications — defined metrics with denominators, formatted for your quality committee, every quarter. A redacted sample is available during contracting.

Open-book posture

Your infection-prevention officer can audit any chart and observe any placement. Contracted services run under your oversight per Joint Commission expectations — we operate as if surveyed, because functionally we are.

Adverse events, handled like adults

Full documentation, prompt notification of your designated contact, participation in your event review. A quality record this long isn't built by pretending complications are impossible — it's built by treating every one as reviewable.

Seventeen consecutive quarters.
Zero malpositions.