Baptist Health has achieved significant improvements in medication safety and operational efficiency through a comprehensive standardization of infusion pumps across its nine-hospital network. The initiative, completed in July 2023, has demonstrated remarkable success with a 52% reduction in high-risk overrides and consistent maintenance of system guardrail compliance above 95%.
Strategic Implementation and Collaboration
The 18-month standardization project brought together a multidisciplinary team of clinical pharmacists, pharmacy site leaders, and data analysts from the Willow Ambulatory team. External consultants from Bainbridge provided additional expertise in data integration and drug library recommendations.
"The consistency brought by standardization drastically cuts down the margin for error, which is a game changer in terms of patient safety," said Nilesh Desai, MBA, BS, RPh, CPPS, chief pharmacy officer of Baptist Health in Louisville, Kentucky.
Technical Integration and Safety Measures
The project consolidated eight separate drug pump libraries into a single intravenous (IV) infusion library, enabling more comprehensive data collection and analysis across all facilities. This integration focused particularly on Alaris pumps, which are specialized devices that monitor patient vital signs while delivering medications, blood, and fluids in controlled quantities.
"The scale of change was immense. It was not just about technology but also about people and processes. The training and change management aspects were as crucial as the technical ones," explained Sanchita Damania, system director of medication safety and regulatory at Baptist Health in New York.
Measurable Outcomes and Safety Improvements
The standardization initiative has yielded significant safety improvements:
- Maintained system standard guardrail compliance above 95%
- Observed consistent decline in total guardrail alerts compared to pre-implementation levels
- Achieved 52% reduction in high-risk overrides between March 2023 and March 2024
Future Developments and Ongoing Optimization
Baptist Health continues to refine its infusion practices, with current focus areas including:
- Optimization of IV flushing techniques
- Standardization of intermittent small-volume infusion administration
- Enhanced integration with electronic health records
- Continued staff training and proficiency development
The success of this standardization project demonstrates the potential benefits for other health systems considering similar initiatives, particularly in addressing the critical issue of medication errors, which historically occur most frequently at the point of administration.
