Design for patient safety: A guide to the design of electronic infusion devices

Design for patient safety: A guide to the design of electronic infusion devices is the first guidance published that focuses on the safe design of infusion pumps and syringe drivers used in hospital and ambulatory care.

It illustrates how design can be used to change and make safer the use of infusion devices in practice. It is intended as a best practice guide to be used by infusion device developers in medical devices companies, as well as a reference guide for those involved in the procurement of infusion devices in the NHS.

In 2004 the National Patient Safety Agency published a patient safety notice with recommendations on how to reduce the risk of patient safety incidents involving infusion devices. The recommendations concerned:

• how purchasing decisions on infusion devices should be made in NHS organisations;
• the importance of evaluating the necessity for an infusion device before it is purchased;
• the need to reduce the range of infusion device types in use and, within each type, have agreed default configurations;
• the benefits of a establishing a centralised equipment library.

This new Design for patient safety guide will assist the NHS in continuing to implement these safety recommendations.