Baxter (NYSE:BAX) announced new data demonstrating the positive impact of smart infusion pump integration with hospital EMRs.
The Deerfield, Illinois-based company announced data in collaboration with The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB Health). It looked at integrating smart infusion pump technology with hospital electronic medical records (EMRs) on patient safety, clinicians’ bedside productivity and programming compliance.
Investigators presented the analyses on more than 1 million infusions using Baxter’s Spectrum IQ large volume infusion pumps (LVP) American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) 2025 Midyear Clinical Meeting.
Baxter says that intravenous (IV) medication errors remain a common, yet preventable, cause of patient harm. Using smart infusion pump capabilities like auto-programming, enabled through EMR integration, can support safer medication administration. So, too, can dose-error reduction systems (DERS), which help prevent medication errors by checking programmed doses against preset drug-specific soft and hard limits.
Altogether, the company says this pairing can minimize manual tasks and reduce cognitive burden for nurses at the bedside.
“Integrating smart infusion pumps with our EMR is more than a technology upgrade—it’s a commitment to safer, more efficient care at the bedside. This collaboration helps our clinicians spend less time troubleshooting and more time focusing on patients,” said Juanita Norton, program manager, quality improvement, The University of Texas Medical Branch.
More about the findings from Baxter
Data shared at ASHP leveraged findings from 1.3 million infusions at six UTMB hospitals over a three-year period. Investigators evaluated and compared data based on EMR integration status, care area and infusion programming type.
Following EMR integration, all evaluated safety alerts for infusions decreased in frequency. DERS hard limit alerts also decreased by 50.3%. Soft limits fell by 30.4% and single step rate change (SSRC) alerts, a safety feature unique to Baxter’s infusion pump portfolio, fell by 38.1%.
Baxter said these findings implied that more programmed doses landed within the drug library limits. Data also suggested that drug library optimization with use of auto-programming resulted in fewer required interventions.
Additionally, EMR integration-enabled auto-programming utilizes sequential bar code scanning compared to manual keypad entry for manually programmed infusions. Post-EMR integration, use of auto-programming required fewer steps than manual programming. It also reduced median time to program an infusion from 10 seconds to four seconds.
Baxter said the findings help address two critical priorities for health systems: reducing preventable safety alerts and alleviating clinician workload. The analysis underscores how smart pump EMR integration may help health systems deliver safer, more efficient care.
“Health systems face mounting challenges, from resource shortages to staff fatigue, yet remain committed to delivering the highest standards of care,” said Dr. Jay Ehrlich, VP of global patient safety and clinical research at Baxter. “Baxter is proud to provide technologies that help address these priorities and foster ongoing quality improvement initiatives to help advance patient safety and address cognitive overload for clinicians. The findings presented at ASHP, developed in collaboration with the University of Texas Medical Branch, reinforce the potential broad impact of, and opportunities associated with, smart infusion pump EMR integration.”
