Patients hate needles.
This basic fact makes IV therapy a pressing healthcare issue affecting nearly every specialty, according to Lee Steere, RN, CRNI, VA-BC, Manager of IV Therapy Services at Hartford Hospital – especially when you consider that nearly 90 percent of hospitalized patients will require a peripheral IV (PIV) catheter at some point during their stay.
In the United States, PIV failure rates average around 53%, meaning one out of every two catheters fail to last until the end of treatment. This could be the reason that needle sticks are among the top ten patient fears, according to a national survey of hospitalized patients.
“Patients seeking care at healthcare facilities receive too many needle sticks,” Steere said. “My passion is to achieve the goal of one PIV per patient which entails getting an IV inserted on the first attempt and lasting until the prescribed treatment is complete.” Continue reading “Transforming IV Therapy: Using the Right Approach to Get the Right Result”