Smart infusion pump technology
Abstract:
Although smart infusion pumps were built to eliminate medication errors, new types of usability errors have arisen. The purposes of this study were to determine potential risks when using smart pumps during secondary medication administration and to identify opportunities for design improvements. We observed and analyzed nurses when they interacted with smart pumps and heuristically evaluated the smart pump to identify usability problems. Forty-three usability problems were identified with the smart pump. The usability problems have the potential to create high cognitive burden on nurses and to increase the likelihood of mistakes. We discuss design and process improvement recommendations for each major finding from this study.
Reference:
Klarich A, Noonan TZ, Reichlen C, Barbara SMJ, Cullen L, Pennathur PR. Usability of smart infusion pumps: A heuristic evaluation. Appl Ergon. 2021 Sep 22;98:103584. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2021.103584. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34562782.