The importance of delivering innovative, reliable infusion devices for critical health needs

James Waterson, medical affairs manager, BD and Stefan Soloman, product marketing, EMEA, BD, analyse the role of infusion devices have today.

The infusion market is one of the fastest growing segments in the medical technology market in the UK. This can largely be attributed to ageing populations and increased prevalence of chronic diseases. The outbreak of COVID-19 has created an additional surge in demand for infusion devices, with many hospitals in the UK likely experiencing supply shortages.

Challenges such as stretched resources and staff burnout can have a negative impact on patient safety, but one thing that the pandemic has highlighted is the importance of automated solutions in alleviating pressure on healthcare professionals and providing greater patient care. This technology can help decrease time spent on everyday tasks, reduce errors, and improve medication management, allowing healthcare professionals to get the right medication to the right patient at the right time.

Challenges highlighted by the pandemic

A trend that has emerged during the pandemic is that more workload for medication preparation is being taken on by pharmacy and aseptic services to reduce the pressure of medication compounding by nurses. Additionally, medications are being substituted due to extreme shortages, creating additional need for hospitals and pharmacies to ensure that automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs), smart pump libraries and the central formulary are aligned to ensure that medications are being prepared and dispensed safely. Drug scarcity has also placed strain on regional purchasing bodies and group purchasing organisations, as it has become vital to not just be able to account for with the inventory inside one facility, but also within entire healthcare systems.

On top of this, healthcare professionals are facing burnout. This is in part due to understaffing, or personnel being redirected from other therapy areas to COVID-19 wards, but clinicians are also having to spend time on mundane, non-valuable tasks, such as data entry or manual processes, meaning that there is less time for clinical activities and patient care. 

Integration and interoperability

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of seamless, integrated automated solutions in helping healthcare professionals and improving patient care. However, it is not uncommon for hospitals, pharmacies, and laboratories to use different vendors for their information software. Attempting to create a flow of data and communication between devices from multiple vendors is extremely difficult as each manufacturer has its own interface. This not only means that data is often siloed and fragmented, but also data communication risks breakdown at any point in the system. Some vendors do not offer integration with Hospital Information Systems (HIS), or require third party integration appliances, which increases costs and time spent on patch updates and software repairs. 

Integration and interoperability have become more vital than ever, and this is going to be a significant point of focus for the NHS now and in the years to come. 

Introducing joined-up solutions

Integrated and robust connectivity is key to improving mediation management and safety. For example, with intravenous (IV) medications, healthcare professionals have to consider a number of different things, such as picking compounding components and ensuring the right dose and the right drug are getting to the right patient via the right route at the right time. IV medication administration also commonly requires a two-nurse check. With highly infectious patients, this can potentially expose two nurses to the risk of infection during patient identification. This is where integrated, or “joined-up” solutions, can play a role in reducing time spent on repetitive tasks, improve safety and standardisation, and the quality of patient care. A comprehensive and coordinated IV medication management system allows healthcare professionals to verify compounding components and access preparation instructions on the go, creating more efficiency and accuracy as each step can be guided and recorded at each stage. The need for a second nurse check can be replaced with barcode medication administration (BCMA) – the smart pump, via a bidirectional wireless communication with the patient’s electronic medication administration record, can undertake the bedside checks and automatically log in the patient’s chart.

Healthcare professionals can also use real-time dashboards to check and electronically document all medications used to minimise stock inside the hospital and reduce expired medication wastage. Additionally, senior staff can conduct checks remotely and monitor multiple sites at once.

Making integrated solutions suit the needs of the hospital

There is a generally accepted notion that it is easier to build a new hospital than to change an old one. However, new solutions are not deployed in full overnight. Therefore, any solution must be built with the expectation of a partial implementation first, with the goal being total implementation. These solutions must be safe, flexible, and work seamlessly end to end.

Historically, healthcare professionals wanted the ‘best in class’ solutions. However, it is clear that to deliver safe and effective medication management hospital-wide, procurement officers and other internal stakeholders need to consider solutions that integrate seamlessly with the facility’s HIS and other software, as well as serve the needs of the particular hospital and their patients.

Different stakeholders working in separate departments have different goals and will need to align on the best solutions for their facility moving forward. Transparency and a trusted partner are key to this, as they can help provide required education and training. Each piece of equipment, medical device, or software they are using is just a small part of a wider solution that has benefits that go beyond one’s area of responsibility.

Collaboration to foster digital innovation

Collaboration between the NHS and medtech partners will be crucial for further innovation in healthcare. The NHS’ digital exemplars initiative has highlighted that the move to paperless is irreversible. While many hospitals will need more time to reach HIMSS levels 6 or 7, they can work with medtech partners to support them along their digitalisation journey – hospitals can no longer afford to implement systems that cannot ensure interoperability with their continuously evolving healthcare IT demands. A similar approach of best practice sharing with suppliers for pharmacy can encourage innovation and increase and create long-term financial sustainability for the NHS. 

Joined-up healthcare solutions have an important role to play during the current pandemic and beyond. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a catalyst for many innovations within healthcare and has highlighted the importance of a connected digital experience – not just to reduce the load on healthcare professionals, but also improve patient care.