Hello all!

I’d like to hear what your experience is with usage of smart pump interoperability for carrier fluids and if you found ways to successfully accommodate nursing workflow.

A large amount of our non-compliant pump programming cases are related to normal saline for use with IVPBs. There are either zero attempts or failed attempts with ‘order has not been verified by pharmacy’ errors.

We have a Line Management protocol and related order panel with a PRN order for carrier fluid (see attachment) to help nurses initiate this and have it sent to the pump (we even pre-checked the order in the hope it will help). We noted that in some cases, the order is not entered. In most cases, there is an order but it’s either not used for documenting administration or used as soon as it’s entered (since the nurse is right there at bedside) and pharmacy has no time to verify it. I suspect some nurses do not attempt sending the order to the pump, knowing that it will not be verified yet. In some cases, a physician will not recognize the order and discontinue it, so the same cycle begins.

We’d like to improve the workflow for nurses related to carrier lines and want to see how other facilities manage this issue, if encountered.

Thank you for your input.
Viktoriya