The impact of using an intravenous workflow management system (IVWMS) on cost and patient safety

The aim of this study was to determine the financial costs associated with wasted and missing doses before and after the implementation of an intravenous workflow management system (IVWMS) and to quantify the number and the rate of detected intravenous (IV) preparation errors.

A retrospective analysis of the sample hospital information system database was conducted using three months of data before and after the implementation of an IVWMS System (DoseEdge^®) which uses barcode scanning and photographic technologies to track and verify each step of the preparation process. The financial impact associated with wasted and missing >IV doses was determined by combining drug acquisition, labor, accessory, and disposal costs. The intercepted error reports and pharmacist detected error reports were drawn from the IVWMS to quantify the number of errors by defined error categories.

The total number of IV doses prepared before and after the implementation of the IVWMS system were 110,963 and 101,765 doses, respectively. The adoption of the IVWMS significantly reduced the amount of wasted and missing IV doses by 14,176 and 2268 doses, respectively (p < 0.001). The overall cost savings of using the system was $144,019 over 3 months. The total number of errors detected was 1160 (1.14%) after using the IVWMS.

The implementation of the IVWMS facilitated workflow changes that led to a positive impact on cost and patient safety. The implementation of the IVWMS increased patient safety by enforcing standard operating procedures and bar code verifications.