An Interactive Device for Reducing Risk of Infusion Therapy and Blood Transfusions

Abstract

Administration of high-risk medications and transfusion of blood components are routinary medical procedures that can be potentially harmful to patients due to a set of multifaceted factors, such as, conservation of the medical product, poor asset tracking, and human errors. Although they represent a very small percentage of adverse events, errors and complications associated with transfusion and infusion therapy can cause major morbidity and death.

In the recent years, several reporting initiatives and intervention measures led to the adoption of dedicated processes and tools designed for preventing errors, reducing the associated potential damage, and increasing patient safety. Nevertheless, statistics and reports of incidents demonstrate that infusion and transfusion therapies still demand more effective solutions. In this paper, we introduce an innovative interactive system that aims at reducing risk by taking into consideration human factors that are involved at bedside, such as, fatigue, stress, attention, and cognitive load. Specifically, the proposed solution consists in an attachment that locks a medical container in the prescription phase and prevents access to its content and administration unless all the safety conditions as met. In addition to enforcing safety with a physical barrier, it operates as a visual management tool throughout the process and, specifically, at bedside, where most incidents occur.