It is designed to enhance hospital care and improve patient safety, similar to US hospitals
The Infusion Nurses Society (India Chapter), an independent coalition of academic healthcare professionals, has announced the commencement of National Data Repository for infusion therapy associated complications along with Becton, Dickinson and Company to help gauge the extent of inadvertent medical errors and infections taking place in city hospitals.
Without making hospital names public, the initiative will use data to help ascertain the magnitude of the problem and suggest a way forward. The data will be pooled and published as national benchmarks and utilised for development of evidence based protocols and actions for improvement.
According to Col Binu Sharma, President INS India, “Of all hospital acquired infection cases, a significant percentage can be attributed to unsafe infusion practices involving crucial life-saving IV administration of fluids, parenteral nutrition, drugs and blood products. The INS national repository will help ascertain the magnitude of medication errors, treatment related complications & healthcare associated infections which are missing as of today.”
Said, Clare D Mello, Deputy Chief of Nursing, Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai, “Safe injection practices must be practiced by each and every nurse and health care professional to ensure accurate medication administration and patient satisfaction and safety. Collecting data at a national repository will enable INS- INDIA to achieve the goal of safe infusion practices and benchmark with the best at the international level.”
“Complications arising from unsafe infusion practice can have long term effects on patient care, patient satisfaction and length of stay. The risk factors can increase the overall cost to the hospital,” said Col Sharma.
Unsafe infusion practices comprise of faulty technique, incorrect dosage of drugs, selection of catheter sites, hand hygiene and may lead to complications such as swelling of veins (phlebitis), blood borne infections, blood clots and in extreme cases, death.
Becton, Dickinson and Co, one of the global medical device companies in the world has already started working with several hospitals across India to coordinate adoption of INS Standards, surveillance of infusion related complications, quality training for nurses and healthcare professionals safe infusion practices.
Varun Khanna, MD, BD India said, “Many infusion therapy complications are preventable if hospitals upgrade to new quality tools and adopt best medical practices. We are working to make Indian nurses and related healthcare professionals better aware and trained to protect patients from medication errors as well as associated infections by following safe infusion practices that are the standard worldwide.”
The Infusion Nurses Society (India Chapter) recently launched the guidelines for infusion nursing and online eLearning course for nursing professionals.
EH News Bureau
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