Smart Intravenous Pump Technology

Medical practitioners and hospitals are deploying a variety of technologies to improve patient care. Included in the list of technology applications is smart intravenous pump technology, used to reduce errors associated with intravenous medication procedures.

Identification

• The smart intravenous pump prevents medication errors by alerting nurses when medication given intravenously is delivered at a rate exceeding established limits, thus avoiding potential harm to patients.

Functions

• The nurse or health care provider selects the applicable drug infusion rate from a programming library. The programming takes into account the drug, patient height and weight and other critical parameters. Once the rate is set to pre-approved dosing guidelines, the infusion begins. If, for whatever reason, the dosing deviates from the programmed rate, it sounds an alarm, alerting the nurse for corrective action. In addition, smart pumps can be connected to a computer where the appropriate infusion rate and dosing information can be downloaded and programmed into the pump.

Significance

• After several case studies, the smart intravenous pump accounted for a significant reduction in infusion-rate errors.