System Pump Compliance

Maintain Compliance with Intravenous Drug Library at 95%

Smart infusion pumps combine computer technology and drug libraries to limit the potential for dosing errors. An infusion pump drug library allows medications to be built within care areas and with minimum and maximum limits to facilitate safe infusion medication administration. A study published in 2016 found that bypassing the smart infusion pump or the drug library accounted for about 10% of the total number of errors or policy violations relating to infusion administration¹. The Joint Commission realized the importance of optimizing utilization of smart infusion pumps and built-in dose error reduction software (DERS) and issued a Sentinel Event Alert in April of 2021.²

RWJBarnabas Health had set a goal to monitor pump compliance beginning in January of 2021 and look for opportunities to optimize the DERS technology. The goal was to ensure compliance with the pump library for 95% of infusions.

RWJBarnabas Health successfully meet the compliance goal in 2021. This outcome will continue to be monitored for 2022 along with the incorporation of additional recommendations provided by The Joint Commission.

¹Schnock KO, et al. The frequency of intravenous medication administration errors related to smart infusion pumps: A multihospital observational study. BMJ Quality and Safety, 2016;26(2):93-94.

² Optimizing smart infusion pump safety with DERS. Sentinel Event Alert. Issue 63, April 14 2021.