B. Braun Medical Outcomes Studies Identify Opportunities To Minimize Alert Fatigue

BETHLEHEM, PA--(Marketwired - September 06, 2016) - B. Braun Medical Inc.'s Infusion Safety Analysis Service, which is designed to ensure meaningful use of infusion data to promote best practices and improve outcomes, has identified opportunities to reduce alerts and improve drug library use. The findings have been published in two peer reviewed sources.

A retrospective analysis of drug library alert data of more than 4 million therapies and 50 hospitals showed a low incidence of alerts (1%) and corrections (0.1%) when the drug library was used, indicating a low incidence of programming error, which may help to minimize alert fatigue.(1) The analysis, which used B. Braun’s proprietary DoseTrac® Infusion Management Software,(1 ) also identified the top therapies and practices that cause alerts. These findings were delivered in a poster presentation -- “Establishing benchmarks and identifying opportunities to reduce alert fatigue associated with smart infusion pumps” -- at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Meeting in New Orleans.

The Infusion Safety Analysis Service also helped to reveal the top infusions and key practices contributing to smart pump workarounds and noncompliance. The authors of the publication “Eliminating clinical workarounds through improved smart pump drug library use” concluded that in order to achieve up to 100% drug library compliance, the following three things should occur: 1) multi-disciplinary collaboration, 2) analysis of programming sequence surrounding alerts and the ability to view practice in real-time, and 3) routine review of data and measurement of outcomes. The publication appeared in the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) Horizons Journal.(2)

“The overall clinical impact of using our Infusion Safety Analysis Service with targeted drug library adjustments and education has helped hospitals achieve up to 100% drug library use, up to 99% reduction in alerts, and a significant reduction in infusion related medication errors,(1-8)” said Rachel Vitoux, Director of Sales, Clinical Services at B. Braun. “B. Braun is proud to achieve these unprecedented outcomes as they demonstrate we are moving in the right direction in helping our healthcare partners improve patient safety, experience and healthcare costs.”

B. Braun showcased DoseTrac’s reporting software and Analysis Service at this year’s American Association of Critical-Care Nurses National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition.

About B. Braun
B. Braun Medical Inc., a leader in infusion therapy and pain management, develops, manufactures, and markets innovative medical products and services to the healthcare industry. The company is committed to eliminating preventable treatment errors and enhancing patient, clinician and environmental safety. B. Braun Medical is part of the B. Braun Group of Companies in the U.S., which is headquartered in Bethlehem, Pa., and includes B. Braun Interventional Systems, Aesculap® and CAPS®.

Globally, the B. Braun Group of Companies employs more than 56,000 employees in more than 60 countries. Guided by its Sharing Expertise® philosophy, B. Braun continuously exchanges knowledge with customers, partners and clinicians to address the critical issues of improving care and lowering costs. To learn more about B. Braun Medical, visit www.BBraunUSA.com.

(1)Vitoux, R. Chang, H., & Lehr, J. Establishing benchmarks and identifying opportunities to reduce alert fatigue associated with smart infusion pumps. Poster presentation at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Clinical Meeting, December 2015.

(2)Vitoux, R., Lehr, J, & Chang, H. Eliminating clinical workarounds through improved smart pump drug library use. Horizons, Fall 2015.

(3)DoseTrac Infusion Management Software. Data on file. Braun Medical, Inc. 2015.

(4)Sullivan, C. Improve infusion safety and reduce alarm fatigue. Poster presentation at the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses National Teaching Institute Annual Conference, May 2014.

(5)Ruhl, C. Get smart with smart pumps. Nursing Management, 44(11), 17-20, 2013.

(6)Cowan, D. Mission zero with smart pumps. Nursing Management, 40(11), 2009.

(7)Bracker, P. & White, J. Analyze this: Smart pumps get an IQ boost. Nursing Management, 39(12), 2007.

(8)Raso, R., Velletri, J., & DiCrescento, S. Making the most of data for patient safety. Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare Magazine, May/June, 2007.