Infusion pumps: preventing future adverse events.

The Joint Commission offers this information for health care organizations to consider in their continuing efforts to reduce the risk of adverse events in the care of their patients, residents or individuals served. In the past two years, health care organizations have reported to JCAHO two sentinel events involving the use of infusion pumps. While it is difficult to reach meaningful conclusions from only two cases, these cases have raised a concern about patient safety involving the use of infusion pumps. In recent months there has been a great deal of discussion about potential problems with infusion pumps. Therefore, JCAHO provides the following expert comments and recommendations to alert health care organizations on how to prevent such adverse events from occurring.