Multiple intravenous infusions phase 1b: practice and training scan.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Practice
• Patient Safety
• Healthcare Technology

Background:

• Limited research exists on patient safety risks associated with multiple intravenous (IV) infusions.
• Previous studies and incident reports indicate a high percentage of harm from multiple IV infusion incidents.
• Phase 1a identified significant patient harm resulting from multiple IV infusions.

Purpose of the Study:

• Identify patient safety issues with the potential to cause harm during multiple IV infusions.
• Assess current nursing education on safe administration of multiple IV infusions.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a field study across 12 hospital units in Ontario.
• Performed telephone interviews with nursing program coordinators and instructors.
• Utilized Rasmussen's Risk Management Framework and Health Care Failure Modes and Effects Analysis for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Identified 22 primary patient safety issues with potential for direct patient harm.
• Categorized 17 critical issues into 6 distinct themes.
• Developed cause-consequence trees for critical issues and proposed clinical recommendations for Ontario hospitals.

Conclusions:

• The administration of multiple IV infusions is complex and carries substantial patient safety risks.
• Improvements needed in infusion technology, nursing education, clinical guidelines, hospital policies, and unit practices.
• Further investigation into mitigating strategies is planned for Phase 2.