Stakeholder perceptions of smart infusion pumps and drug library updates: A multisite, interdisciplinary study

Abstract

Abstract Purpose Results of a questionnaire-based study to evaluate smart infusion pump end users’ perceptions and understanding of the drug library update process are reported. Methods The Indianapolis Coalition for Patient Safety, Inc., in partnership with the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering, conducted a 33-item electronic, cross-sectional survey across 5 Indiana health systems from May through November 2017. Interdisciplinary participants identified for survey distribution included nurses, pharmacists, biomedical engineers, administrators, and medication safety officers. The survey assessed the following domains: patient safety, the drug library update process, knowledge of drug libraries and the update process, and end-user perceptions. Results A total of 778 submitted surveys were included in the data analysis, with a large majority of responses (90.2%) provided by nurses. The use of drug libraries for ensuring patient safety was deemed extremely important or important by 88% of respondents, but 36% indicated that they were unsure of whether drug libraries are updated on a routine basis in their health system. Approximately two-thirds agreed that the current update process improves quality of care (65.0%) and patient safety (68.1%). Moreover, 53.3% agreed that the current drug library update process was effective. However, less than 10% responded correctly when asked about the steps required to update the drug library. Furthermore, only 18% correctly indicated that when a pump is on it may not necessarily contain the most up-to-date version of the drug library. Conclusion A survey of 5 health systems in Indianapolis identified several end-user knowledge gaps related to smart pump drug library updates. The results suggest that these gaps were most likely due to a combination of the 2-step update process and the fact that the current drug library version is not easy to find and/or user-friendly and it is unclear when an update is pending.