Grady First Metro Hospital to Link Pump and EMR System

This technological achievement takes patient care and safety to a new level.

Grady is proud to be Metro Atlanta’s first hospital to successfully integrate the Alaris IV smart pump technology with its Epic electronic medical record (EMR) – taking patient safety to a new level. To date, approximately 25% of U.S. hospitals have achieved smart pump-EMR interoperability.

“The ability to link programmable IV infusion pumps directly to patient medical records significantly decreases the chances of medication administration errors,” said Glenn Hilburn, Vice President, Clinical Systems, Grady Health System. “We are able to reduce the number of steps a nurse does from 21 down to three. Fewer steps means fewer chances for mistakes and greatly improved efficiency,” Hilburn added.

The smart pump-EMR interoperability rollout on March 1 was the latest step in Grady’s technology journey to improving medication administration safety. By linking the smart pump to the patient’s medical record, clinicians are able to make sure the right drug is given to the right patient, within the right dose, and at the right time.

“The system validates the infusion against the physician’s order through barcode technology and programs the pump to dispense the medication. In addition, it sends data back to the medical record as the patient receives the infusion, providing important, real-time information for the patient care team,” Hilburn said. “This interoperability is recognized throughout healthcare as a best practice.”