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 patients 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 patients 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 its 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 patients line not running and not medication was not
getting deliver properly to the patient. Intravenous Pumps works along
the side of nurses and patients, 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 patients 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
patients 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 dont get what youre 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 its 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 patients line not running and not
medication was not getting deliver properly to the patient.
Intravenous Pumps works along the side of nurses and
patients, 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 doesnt know which line is supposed
to be infused first - for example, you need to hang the IVPB up higher
than the maintenance fluid]