Venous access device study: identification of number of patients with venous access device lines

As part of the Quality Assurance and Improvement Process, the need to determine the number and location of patients having venous access devices in a 600-bed tertiary care facility was identified. In the overall study, 167 patients on 18 wards had venous access device lines in place for a total of 455 weeks. As a direct result of the study, policies/procedures and other practice changes regarding patients with venous access devices have been reviewed and revised. Furthermore, the data helped to provide an in-depth look at the central-line issues for patient care.