Intravenous Medication Safety and Smart Infusion Systems

Carol A. Keohane is Project Director for the Center of Excellence for Patient Safety Research and Practice at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Mass. The Center’s efforts are aimed at improving medication safety across clinical settings. Judy Hayes is the Director of Professional Practice Quality and Staff Development at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Ms Hayes is considered a leader in implementing systems to improve the medication delivery process. Catherine Saniuk is the Clinical Educator for Advanced Heart Disease Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Ms. Saniuk has lectured locally and nationally on cardiovascular topics. Jeffrey M. Rothschild is trained in internal medicine and critical care medicine. He is currently a hospitalist and health services researcher with particular interest in patient safety, quality improvement and informatics. David W. Bates is the Chief of the Division of General Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Medical Director of Clinical and Quality Analysis for Partners Healthcare, Boston, Mass. Address correspondence to: Carol A. Keohane, BSN, RN, Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 1620 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02120-1613 (e-mail: [email protected]). The Institute of Medicine report To Err Is Human: Building a Safe Health System greatly increased national awareness of the need to improve patient safety in general and medication safety in particular. Infusion-related errors are associated with the greatest risk of harm, and “smart” (computerized) infusion systems are currently Carol A. Keohane, BSN, RN Judy Hayes, MSN, RN Catherine Saniuk, MS, RN, CCRN Jeffrey M. Rothschild, MD, MPH David W. Bates, MD, MSc