Secondary Medication Administration and IV Smart Pump Setup
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 12, 2025

Improving IV Insulin Administration in a Community Hospital
Published on: June 11, 2012
Karen K Giuliano1, Jeannine W C Blake, Robert Butterfield
1Karen K. Giuliano is codirector of the Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation and an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Jeannine W.C. Blake is a doctoral student in the College of Nursing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Robert Butterfield is principal at RDB Consulting in San Diego. As an IV infusion device researcher, Giuliano has consulted for ICU Medical, Alaris, and Ivenix. The authors wish to acknowledge Loyda Braithwaite, MSN, RN, an oncology NP at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, for her assistance with the oncology case example. Contact author: Karen K. Giuliano, kkgiuliano@umass.edu . The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
Abstract:
Secondary infusion by large-volume IV smart pump is used extensively in the acute care setting for one-time or intermittent administration of medications such as antibiotics, electrolyte replacements, and some oncology drugs. Consistent and accurate delivery of secondary medications requires a full understanding of the system and setup requirements. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for nurses to find a secondary medication only partially administered when their programming should have resulted in a complete infusion. This article discusses the technical requirements that every nurse should know when administering secondary medications using an IV smart pump.
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