Information Overload: Auditing the Clinical Utility of Smart Pump Reporting Tools

Abstract

Purpose: Smart pump technology provides detailed information about each infused drug and fluid that can be used to examine trends and assist in data set optimization. When smart pumps interface with the electronic health record through interoperability, additional data are available. Methods: The primary outcomes of this study were to identify the top 10 drugs implicated in smart pump near miss events and to reduce the number of near miss events related to smart pump programming. Interoperability data from April 2017 to October 2017 were assessed for near miss trends. Potential interventions for the top 10 drugs were compared using a risk matrix. Secondary outcomes measured the number of data sets circulating prior to each data set update and the duration of time taken for 80% of pumps to accept the most recent data set. Results: A total of 291,503 infusions were included in the preliminary analysis. There was a low frequency of near miss events, with 4,440 alerts (1.5%) comprising the top 10 drugs. An evaluation of the number of circulating data sets prior to each bimonthly update demonstrated that 98.87% to 100% of pumps in active circulation were using the most recent data set. The time for 80% of smart pumps in active circulation to accept the newest data set was between day 0 and day 1 following the data set update. Conclusion: Interoperability data is not ideal for continual monitoring of smart pump metrics but can be useful for identification of workflow optimization opportunities.