Improving Healthcare With Automated IV Pumps

 

When it comes to the administration of fluids to patients, the 2 most commonly used methods include manual infusion or through electric IV pumps.

Infusion pumps

Infusion pumps have been considered the most preferred way for several decades for delivering fluids like nutrients and medications to patients in controlled doses. The use of both infusion pumps, as well as the electric IV pumps, helps physicians and nurses ensure that the patients receive the correct amounts of fluids.

However, performing a manual IV infusion involves a lot of work. Nurses have to accurately judge the right amount they are administering and also monitor the setup periodically to ensure the system is performing efficiently and safely to avoid complications like clotting or blockages.

Manual IV infusion

This is why, most nurses now choose to use electric IV pumps, also called Automated IV Pumps.

Automated IV Pumps are designed to help nurses ensure the right amount of IV fluids are administered through the patient’s vein with higher accuracy and without the need for continuous monitoring.

What makes Automated IV Pumps a superior choice to manual IV pumps is they can lighten the workload of nurses to a great extent. It is known that nurses are severely overworked. They have to attend to a large number of patients each with a different disorder and requiring a different treatment. This can create huge mental stress and put nurses at risk of burnout and eventually depression.

Automated IV Pumps could be a great investment to ease some of the tasks of nurses. It can allow them to focus on other tasks and improve their quality of work while providing peace of mind.

Here are some reasons why many healthcare professionals are recommending Automated IV Pumps for hospitals and clinics to be used in place of traditional manual IV pumps.

What is an infusion pump?

Infusion pumps refer to the medical devices used to deliver fluids like nutrients and drugs like insulin, other hormones, chemotherapy drugs, antibiotics, and pain relievers into the patient’s bloodstreamin controlled amounts.

There are several types of infusion pumps such as large volume, elastomeric, syringe, patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), insulin pumps, and enteral. Some of these are designed for stationary use only at the patient’s bedside. Some infusion pumps called ambulatory infusion pumps are portable.

These devices are in widespread use in hospitals, nursing homes, and other clinical settings. They are also commonly used at homes for patients who need continued care after discharge.

At home infusion

As infusion pumps are often used for the administration of critical fluids, pump failure can have serious implications for the patient’s safety. Hence, some infusion pumps include safety features like alarms and operator alerts intended to be activated in the event of an adverse situation.

Most of the possible errors or adverse events linked to the use of manual infusion pumps could be avoided by using the latest, carefully designed Automated IV Pumps, also called smart pumps.

Automated IV Pumps

Some pumps can alert the user when air or any other form of blockages are detected in the tube delivering fluids.

These pumps are also designed to alert patients or nurses about the risks of adverse drug interactions or when the pump’s parameters are set outside of safety limits.

An infusion pump needs to be operated by a trained user, who can program the duration and rate of the delivery of fluid through an in-built interface. These pumps offer remarkable advantages over the manual administration of fluids, such as an improved ability to deliver fluids in extremely smaller volumes, and at precisely programmed rates and automated intervals. 

Here are some of the benefits of Automated IV Pumps that make them safer and more efficient than manual pumps.

Reduction in Errors

IV pumps areused to administer fluids in the right dosages. If too much of fluids are infused, it could lead to severe consequences.

Automated IV Pumps offer a safer way of administering fluids intravenously. These infusion pumps are designed to deliver only a controlled amount of fluids at a specified rate only.  The use of these pumps would help nurses eliminate the chances of errors in the quantity, duration, and rate of administration of fluids.

Nurses administering IV fluids

These pumps make the treatment facilities in hospitals and clinics safer for patients and enhance the overall quality of services offered.

 

 

Improved infusion capabilities

Automated infusion pumps are not static devices. This means these devices are designed to be customizable. They can be custom-fit based on the specific needs of the patient during fluid administration.

In critical cases, having a modular system of infusion like automated IV pumps can make the process of fluid administration easier and faster. This could play a vital role, especially in ICU and ICCU settings, where every second is valuable for saving the life of patients.

Also, most nurses and healthcare practitioners are under stress while handling emergencies. It would be helpful for them to have an automated infusion system that could adapt to a variety of places in the hospital building as well as outdoors.

Using a smart automated infusion system would give nurses the freedom to use it even in non-traditional settings and provide them the flexibility they need to treat a higher number of patients with better ease and accuracy.

Anesthesia Mode

Some automated IV pumps can be used for the precise administration of anesthesia drugs. Most of these pumps have an option to reconfigure the general-purpose infusion mode to the “anesthesia-friendly” mode automatically.

Automated IV pumps in operation theatre 

These features are designed to meet the specific needs of physicians and nurses while treating patients in different settings.

These pumps have features that allow for the selection of the anesthesia mode thereby providing access to the unique set of drugs and modifying the nature of the dose alerts and alarms.

In the case of drug infusions that need to be continued in the ICU or PACU, the nurses simply need to unplug the power cord to convert the pump back to the general-purpose infusion mode. The seamless conversion offers a safer way for patient transfer.

What is the clinical impact of using automated IV pumps on healthcare facilities?

 

Data related to the IV error-prevention have shown that a large number of adverse events in hospitals could be linked to the over-infusion or under-infusion of fluids and medications. However, no study has demonstrated the actual frequency of medication errors caused due to the improper use of infusion devices with precision.

However, recent studies have revealed that the medical errors caused due to the administration of fluids and medications in more or less than the prescribed doses could be avoided with the help of automated IV infusion pumps.

The use of these pumps as a replacement for the traditional manual pumps might reduce errors in judgment about the quantity of fluids administered. It may also help nurses infuse the precise amount of the drug into the patient's bloodstream at a specific rate. This is expected to reduce the risk of side effects while improving patient safety.

Also, automated IV pumps are easier to use and do not require continuous monitoring. Unlike manual IV pumps, automated pumps can be operated by the relatives and caregivers of patients at home when they need continued care after discharge. This can allow patients to avoid the need to visit hospitals for receiving medications intravenously. This would not just offer great convenience to patients but also ease the burden on the healthcare system.

Automated IV pumps are clinician-designed and customizable to different infusion settings. These devices can be easily used in the Intensive Care Units and Operating Room environments.

It is estimated that the hospitals that incorporate automated infusion pumps into practice wouldbe able to achieve at least 50% reduction in the number of errors related to the drug administration with manual pumps.

Automated IV pumps

The use of smart technologies and the advanced design of these automated pumps may also contribute to the reliability of the healthcare settings. Nurses would no longer have to rely on guessing, memory, or judgment to determine the correct dosing or duration. Instead, they can simply use the smart pumps programmed according to the best practices established by the institution or recommended for the specific illness.

Conclusion

IV pumps are responsible for the correct administration of crucial fluids to patients. Pump failures and incorrect dosing may put the patient at risk of serious complications. These risks can be mitigated by using automated IV infusion pumps having in-built safety features like alarms for air detection or blockage in the IV line.

Automated IV infusion pumps are considered vital tools when it comes to administering fluids to patients accurately and safely. With their array of advanced features, they could provide the correct amounts of fluids, and make the process safer for patients and nurses alike.