Nurses' acceptance of Smart IV pump technology

Background: "Smart" intravenous infusion pumps (Smart IV pumps) are increasingly being implemented in hospitals to reduce medication administration errors.

Objectives: This study examines nurses' experience with the implementation and use of a Smart IV pump in an academic hospital.

Method: Data were collected in three longitudinal surveys: (a) a pre-implementation survey, (b) a 6-week-post-implementation survey, and (c) a 1-year-post-implementation survey. We examined: (a) the technology implementation process, (b) technical performance of the pump, (c) usability of the pump, and (d) user acceptance of the pump.

Results: Initially, nurses had a somewhat positive acceptance of the Smart IV pump technology that significantly increased one year after implementation. User experiences associated with the pump in general improved over time, especially perceptions of pump efficiency. However, user experience with the pump implementation process and pump technical performance did not consistently improve from the pre-implementation survey to the post-implementation survey. Several characteristics of pump technical performance and usability influenced user acceptance at the one-year post-implementation survey.

Discussion: These data may be useful for other institutions to guide implementation and post-implementation follow-up of IV pump use; other institutions could use the survey instrument from this study to evaluate nurses' perceptions of the technology. Our study identified several characteristics of the implementation process that other institutions may need to pay attention to (e.g., sharing information about the implementation process with nurses).