Smart Infusion
Pumps
CHAMBERLAIN COLLEGE OF NURSING
NR 360: INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN HEALTHCARE
NOVEMBER 2020What is a Smart Infusion Pump?
•There are
... [Show More] different types of smart infusion pumps in Healthcare. Smart infusion pumps serve
the same purpose no matter what type of pump it is.
• According to Scanlon “Smart infusion pumps are medication delivery devices that use a
combination of computer technology and drug libraries to limit the potential for dosing
errors.”(Scanlon M. 2012) Smart infusion pumps are very beneficial and serve a major purpose
in Healthcare with the way iv medication is delivered.
•With the use of the smart infusion pumps the healthcare industry can provide a safe
deliverance of medications which is used for different purposes when using smart infusion
pumps.
•As Nurses, it is important that we understand and learn the appropriate use as well as the
purpose of the pumps to achieve the overall goal of delivering extraordinary care while making
patient safety our number one priority.
In the following presentation we will be explaining the uses of the smart infusion pumps in
healthcare, safety, risk factors, how to monitor the patients, the accessibility system to the
patient's electronic record, both the advantages, disadvantages, how they are used and the
overall achievement goal with the use of the devicesHistory of IV Infusion Pumps
Sir Christopher Wren created the first successful
infusion device in 1658 using a bladder and writing
quill (Lee, 2015) .
In 1665 the first successful blood transfusion was
completed after the development of a better needle.
Due to the complications and deaths of this procedure
it was banned (Lee, 2015).
The key elements of IV infusion were developed in the
19th century after bans were lifted (Lee, 2015).
During WWI and II needles were refined, rubber tubing
was replaced by plastic, and vacuum bottles that
reduced the risk of air embolism were designed that
were later replaced by plastic bags (Lee, 2015).
The first infusion pump was introduced in the early
1970s and reserved for IV nutrition in general care and
medication infusions in intensive care units (Lee,
2015).
Figure 1: Sir Christopher Wren (Lee, 2015)Development of the Smart Infusion
The first infusion pumps were able to accurately deliver medication Pump
over different rates manually. They did not have programmed settings.
Early infusion pumps did not have alert mechanisms in place to let the
medical staff know of any occlusions in the tubing or if there were any
issues with medication programming (Giuliano, 2015).
● Medication errors often occurred with early infusion pumps. Medications were given at
high or lower dosages than required and infused at too slow or to high of a rate. These
medication errors led to poor outcomes including the death of patients (Giuliano, 2015).
● To improve IV safety, in 2001 computerized infusion pumps known as "smart pumps"
with dose error reduction systems also, known as DERS, were developed to provide
immediate feedback if a programmed infusion dosage exceeds the hospital's best
practice guidelines (Giuliano, 2015).Development of the Smart Infusion
Pump cont.
Along with DERS, smart pumps also have alarms
that alert the medical team of any occlusions in
the lining, when the infusion has completed, if
the battery is low, and when the programmed
dose exceeds a predefined safety limit
(Giuliano, 2015).
To further eliminate medication errors, smart
pumps have drug libraries pre-programmed on
the device. This “allows the user to choose the
desired medication from an approved list and
input the required patient information, after
which the IV smart pump calculates the infusion
rate (Giuliano K. K. (2015).”
Figure 2: Smart Infusion Pump (Giuliano, 2015)Goals of Technology
Implementation
Reduce medication errors
Improve workflow
Improve patient outcomes
Reduce hospital cost
Improve patient safetyCurrent Use of Smart Infusion
Pump
Feedings adults,
children, and infants
Fluid administration
Medication
administration
Dialysis
Chemotherapy
Development of
smart pumps for in
home use for patients
Figure 3: Feeding Smart Pump (Giuliano, 2015)
Figure 4: Syringe Smart Pump (Giuliano, 2015)
Figure 5: Medication Smart Pump (Giuliano, 2015)Impact on Healthcare and
Nursing Safety
Pump failures can lead to significant risk for patient safety.
Some safety features that pumps are equipped with includes:
Alarms
Operation alerts
An example of safety alerts is the pump notifying the nurse of an air
blockage in the tubing that delivers fluids to the patient.
The FDA received over 50,000 reports of adverse effects from 2005 to 2009,
that compromises the safety of infusion pumps (FDA, 2018).Impact on Healthcare and
Nursing Monitoring
The trained nurse that operates the pump is responsible for close
monitoring of the device after setting the pump and programming it.
The nurse also monitors the rate and the delivery to ensure efficient
use of the pump.
For example, after setting the pump, the nurse frequently monitors the
device to make sure the device is operating the way it was
programmed to.
Risk Management [Show Less]