Chapter 6. Smart Pumps and Other Protocols for Infusion Pumps: Brief Review (NEW)

Introduction Medication errors represent a serious issue affecting the U.S. health care system, accounting for the largest category of patient safety incidents within the larger category of medical errors. One report estimated that at least 1.5 million preventable medication errors occur in the U.S. each year. A list of high-alert medications (those with the highest potential for patient harm if used in error) published by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) includes several medications delivered by intravenous (IV) infusion (e.g., insulin, propofol, heparin). Because IV delivery is more rapid and leads to higher systemic concentrations of drugs compared with other delivery methods, adverse drug effects tend to be more rapid and severe when associated with IV infusion. Because traditional infusion pumps are typically programmed in milliliters per hour (mL/hr) and volume-to-be-infused (VTBI) in mL, they are particularly vulnerable to errors in drug administration and monitoring. Such errors include administration of the wrong dose or the wrong drug as well as erroneous infusion to the wrong patient.