Cardinal Health to purchase infection-prevention company

Dublin-Ohio based Cardinal Health said yesterday that it will pay $490 million in cash to buy the assets of Enturia Inc., a Kansas company that makes infection-prevention products. (Source: "Cardinal acquisition reflects its safety focus," Columbus Dispatch, March 5, 2008.) Cardinal spokesman Troy Kirkpatrick said Enturia focuses on products that enhance patient safety and that Cardinal's purchase complements its "infection-prevention offerings by adding a differentiated and proven product line." Health care providers are extremely Interested in infection prevention, especially since Medicare announced last year that it would no longer pay for preventable errors like infections which occur in hospitals. Many private insurers are expected to eventually follow Medicare's lead.