How Smart IV Pumps Can Reduce Medical Errors

Hospitals frequently utilize medical equipment rentals to help meet the demand posed by high patient volume. One of the most common rented types of equipment is IV pumps. Intravenous therapy is needed for many admitted patients and is considered the best way to deliver fluid or medication with a 100% bioavailability absorption. The type of IV pump used can make a difference when it comes to mitigating the margin of error.

Smart IV Pumps

Traditional infusion pumps come with the risk of user error, which can include issues with programming the delivery rates and volume of infusions. Incorrect dosing can lead to severe injury or even death. Many of these errors can be avoided when using the best technology. Smart pumps, such as Alaris IV pumps, help prevent user error by implementing smart technology to alert medical staff to incorrect parameters or dosing issues. This can help safeguard both patients and staff and avoid any potentially dangerous problems down the road.

This is also helpful if IV pumps are used between floors. In adult departments, the dosing parameters are much higher than the requirements in the NICU. In this instance, alerts on a smart IV pump can help reduce the chances of accidentally administering dangerous doses when using a shared device.

Smart IV pumps are some of the most common medical equipment rentals and are only growing in popularity. Along with providing warnings when dosing parameters are incorrect, these smart pumps can also log alerts allowing staff to have a record of all errors. This can help the clinical staff take notice if specific issues are more frequent than others, and it can also help implement a level of accountability, as the error log can help trace who is responsible for the error readings.

Keeping Patients Safe

While smart IV pumps help keep patients safe, they also can improve the overall workflow in a medical facility. Because they can be pre-programmed for specific needs, staff can devote more time to caring for each patient as opposed to spending time programming equipment. They can also know in real-time if anything needs to be adjusted, as smart pumps will also alert staff to any air bubbles or flow blockages along the line.

When it comes to medical equipment rentals, smart IV pumps should be on the top of the list -- especially in busy medical facilities that see multitudes of patients every day. These pumps can help remove the guesswork and chance for human error, mitigating potentially damaging medication errors from occurring.

If you are looking to add IV pumps to your facility’s medical equipment rental list, be sure to ask your distributor about smart pumps so that you can better ensure the safety of all your patients.