*Note: The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Fresenius Kabi.

Infusion pump systems are some of the most widely utilized devices in hospitals. Robert Canfield, Director of Marketing for infusion systems at Fresenius Kabi, said that the capabilities of these systems have changed dramatically over the past few decades.

“When I started in the industry, these devices were not connected to the network–it was just about the mechanical control of the infusion,” he explained. “Later, they evolved to have software to better deliver the infusion as well as to add drug libraries and other information.”

But updating the software quickly became a challenge, according to Canfield. “Some pumps used memory cards or infrared communication to do the updating. Some required proprietary cables that meant you had to buy every cable from every manufacturer. These were very antiquated technologies that made it so you had to touch every single pump to make sure all systems were up to date–and if you lost a cable or a card, you wouldn’t be able to do those updates.”

“Fortunately,” Canfield said, “modern infusion pump systems, like the Ivenix Infusion System, now have built-in software that includes the pump operating system as well as integrated automation to streamline maintenance and updates.” He added that this automated maintenance may help the clinical engineers responsible for taking care of these devices by helping to avoid version spread or other issues that could take these lifesaving devices offline.

“Historically, any time an infusion pump needed to be managed, repaired, updated, or manipulated in some physical way, there was some sort of collection process. Pumps are used all over the hospital, so this collection can impact nursing staff,” he said. “You have to interrupt their work to collect the pump. And that may mean there isn’t a pump available on that floor to provide medication.”

Ivenix, for instance, updates wirelessly† and within minutes, so there is no need to collect or touch the pumps unless some kind of hardware issue arises. “This helps ensure that the devices are up-to-date, secure, and ready for use at all times,” he noted.

There are other benefits to the adoption of modern wireless infusion pump systems, according to Canfield. By using barcode scanners, nurses and pharmacists can integrate pump operations with a hospital’s electronic medical record (EMR), saving the time, frustration, and potential errors involved with manual data entry.¹

“Far too often, nurses have to move from the pump to the EMR and then back to the pump to key in data,” he said. “With this kind of interoperability, nurses can make sure that, when the pump receives an order, they are only required to scan one screen-based barcode rather than choosing among multiple sticker-based barcodes to identify the pump for the IV order, which can help simplify the workflow.”

Canfield admits that healthcare organizations are spoiled for choice when it comes to current infusion pump system options. But when organizations invest in systems designed to keep pumps updated, secure, and in service without requiring intervention from IT or clinical engineering teams, they can rest assured that patients are safely receiving the right medications at the right time while the organization still realizes time and resource savings.

“By investing in more modern systems, hospitals benefit,” he said. “The pumps are ready when you need them. Thanks to those automatic updates, the pharmacy’s intent and hospital policies are transparently reflected within the system. This helps to ensure optimal safety for patients and the highest quality of care.” Please see a full list of warnings and cautions associated with this device here.

^†The Ivenix Infusion System receives software updates while on or in standby mode and connected to the network. The pump does not receive updates when it is powered off. However, it will receive any pending updates when the pump is powered up and reconnected to the wireless network.

Reference

1. 1. Pettus DC, Vanderveen T, et al. Reliable and scalable infusion system integration with the electronic medical record. Biomed Instrum Technol. 2017;51(2):120-129. https://doi.org/10.2345/0899-8205-51.2.120