“Billions of dollars are spent on health care that never directly affect patient

care. Smart pumps, however can improve patient safety by reducing medication

administration errors” (Harding, 2013). An intravenous smart pump helps nurses

regulate the correct rate and line of infusion. Infusing an Intravenous solution

without a pump its like a time bomb waiting to explode. Back in the days when

Intravenous pump was not introduced yet, many catastrophic errors had happened

which puts patient’s safety in jeopardy. For example, a patient had both insulin

infusing at 5ml/hour and a maintenance infusion of IV sodium chloride at 100ml,

while the patient’s gown was changed the IV lines were switched. The insulin then

was infusing at 100ml/hr. while the sodium chloride was infusing at 5ml / hr.

(Paparella, Wollitz, Horsham, 2014). Making mistake is part of being a human being,

but some mistakes are more serious than others such as drugs that are high alert,

insulin or heparin. Patient will either bleed out or they will become hypoglycemic

and go into shock. With the introduction of intravenous smart pumps nurses can

program the rate of the infusion to the smart pump and if line were ever going to get

switched or mixed up the alarm will go off automatically on the IV pump. This will

alert the nurse to catch on to her mistake before it’s too late and reduce patient

harm. Another example will be when IV norepinephrine was order to maintain a

systolic blood pressure over 90mm Hg, shortly after the infusion was started the

patient had a sudden drop in blood pressure 68/30, it was not until later when the

nurse was about the increase the dose found the norepinephrine line was

disconnected. The problem was adjusted without increase of a dose (Paparella,

Wollitz, Horsham, 2014). If a smart pump was implemented in place and a line was

blocked off, the infusion pump will simply start beeping letting the nurse know that

something is going on with the line or something is wrong with the infusion. Instead

of coming back at the end of the shift only to find your patient’s line not running and

not medication was not getting deliver properly to the patient. Intravenous Pumps

works along the side of nurses and patient’s, it boost confident of the patient that

they are getting the correct infusion rate they need and also reduce human errors. It

acts as a last line of defense before the IV is being infused into the patient.

Intravenous Infusion Pumps

Medication error: infusion pump

“Billions of dollars are spent on health care that never directly affect

patient care. Smart pumps, however can improve patient safety by reducing

medication administration errors” (Harding, 2013). An intravenous smart

pump helps nurses regulate the correct rate and line of infusion. Infusing an

Intravenous solution without a pump its like a time bomb waiting to explode.

[Back in the days] when Intravenous pump was not introduced yet, many

catastrophic errors had happened which puts patient’s safety in jeopardy. [For

example, a patient had both insulin infusing at 5ml/hour and a maintenance

infusion of IV sodium chloride at 100ml, while the patient’s gown was changed

the IV lines were switched].  The insulin then was infusing at 100ml/hr. while

the sodium chloride was infusing at 5ml / hr. [Explain this  further - wording is

confusing] (Paparella, Wollitz &Horsham, 2014). [Making mistake is part of

being a human being][Human errors are common and most can be fixed], [but

some mistakes are more serious than others such as drugs that are high alert,

insulin or heparin] [but medication errors that involve high alert drugs, insulin, or

heparin, for example, can lead to lethal consequences]. [Patient will either bleed

out or they will become hypoglycemic and go into shock.] [The most common

outcomes  of medication errors include toxicity, shock, and death.] [The benefit of

implementing an intravenous smart pump is that] [With the introduction of

intravenous smart pumps] nurses can program the rate of the infusion to the

smart pump and [if line were ever going to get switched or mixed up] [we don’t

get what you’re trying to say here. Explain what switch and mixed up means. Why

would you unattach the lines and mix them up?]  the alarm will go off

automatically on the IV pump. This will alert the nurse to catch on to her

mistake before it’s too late and reduce patient harm. Another example will be

when IV nor-epinephrine was order to maintain a systolic blood pressure over

90mm Hg, shortly after the infusion was started the patient had a sudden drop

in blood pressure 68/30, it was not until later when the nurse was about the

increase the dose found the nor-epinephrine line was disconnected. The

problem was adjusted without increase of a dose (Paparella, Wollitz&

Horsham, 2014). If a smart pump was implemented in place and a line was

blocked off, the infusion pump will simply start beeping letting the nurse

know that something is going on with the line or something is wrong with the

infusion.  Instead of coming back at the end of the shift only to find your

patient’s line not running and not medication was not getting deliver properly

to the patient. Intravenous Pumps works along the side of nurses and

patient’s, it boost confident of the patient that they are getting the correct

infusion rate they need and also reduce human errors. It acts as a last line of

defense before the IV is being infused into the patient.

[Need to mention how the pump doesn’t know which line is supposed to be infused

first - for example, you need to hang the IVPB up higher than the maintenance fluid]