Smart Pump/EMR Integration 2013
Not Easy, but Worth the Effort

INTEGRATION PIONEERS: Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota, Downtown Naples Hospital Campus, Intermountain Healthcare, Lancaster General, Oklahoma Heart Hospital, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Silver Cross Hospital, Wellspan Health, and Winter Park Memorial Hospital. 

WORTH KNOWING

Early Adopters Gain Expected Patient Safety Improvements—

Providers felt smart pump/EMR integration significantly improved patient safety (rated 8.4 out of 9) by reliably reducing programming errors, increasing drug library compliance, and facilitating more timely and accurate documentation.

Momentum Building in the Race for Integration—

Hospira was the first smart pumps vendor to integrate and has half of the current live customers, but CareFusion, Baxter, and B. Braun all now have customers live. CareFusion’s momentum positions them to pass Hospira for most customers live by 2014.

Cerner Is the Clear Smart Pump/EMR Integration Leader—

Over 75% of providers doing smart pump/EMR integration are using Cerner, and 50 more are reported to have purchased Cerner’s solution. Cerner clients are the most diverse, integrating with B. Braun, Baxter, CareFusion, and Hospira. Epic is the only other commercial EMR vendor doing pump/ EMR integration. Allscripts, McKesson, MEDITECH, and Siemens have yet to go through the process.

Integrating Pumps Not Like Other Medical Device Integration—

Only 2 of 15 providers who had contracted for integration by early 2012 had gone live by the time of this research. Though early adopters feel it is worth the effort, they indicated that smart pump/ EMR integration is much more complicated than integrating other devices like patient monitors. They felt smart pump/EMR vendors are engaged, but do not bring speed and clarity to the implementations.

BOTTOM LINE ON VENDORS

PUMP VENDORS

B. Braun:

Newest entrant to smart pump/EMR integration, with one Outlook ES customer live on Cerner. Performance scores for both pumps lowest in segment. Good wireless functionality on Outlook ES, but wireless not yet FDA approved for Space pump.

Baxter:

Rated Best in KLAS last three years. Two customers live; one on Cerner, one on a custom EMR, and another live by end of 2013. Live in more hospitals (15) than any other pump vendor, and only vendor with integrated pump alarms. Instead of autoprogramming, Baxter uses inbound EMR data to populate a banner that scrolls across the pump display. Recent FDA action limits pump sales, but unclear if/how this will affect integration momentum.

CareFusion:

Considered technology leader, but slower than expected to bring providers live with pump integration. Two live customers, both using Cerner’s EMR. Only vendor with integrated syringe pumps and two children’s hospitals live. Well positioned as the next integration leader with strong wireless functionality, integrated pump suite, the largest pump customer base, and the most customers planning to go live by the end of 2014.

Hospira:

Actively involved in pump/EMR integration for years. Most current customers live with EMR integration. Only pump vendor with Epic integration and with two separate LVP pumps (Plum A+ and Symbiq) successfully integrated with an EMR. Recent decision to sunset Symbiq and FDA actions to limit Plum A+ shipments will likely impact integration momentum.

Smiths Medical:

Offers PCA and syringe pumps. No customers live or contracted for integration, since provider focus has been on LVP integration to this point. Recent wireless rollout for Medfusion 4000 reported as successful.

EMR VENDORS

Cerner:

Clear leader in smart pump/EMR integration by leveraging iBus to facilitate deep integration. Outpacing even smart pumps vendors with the most live and most reported customers under contract. Broadest range of integration options, including autoprogramming, autodocumentation, and infusion status monitoring dashboards. Has integrated with B. Braun, Baxter, CareFusion, and Hospira.

Epic:

Smart pump/EMR integration not previously a major focus. Early provider pioneer integrated with Hospira and pushed Epic participation. Live sites likely to increase as smart pumps vendors report several Epic sites have contracted for integration. Using IHE standards approach to support integration.

Allscripts/McKesson/MEDITECH/Siemens:

Focused on other priorities with no providers currently live with smart pump/EMR integration. Customers using these EMRs will likely have to lead integration efforts. CareFusion reports a Soarian customer has contracted to integrate once Siemens can support it. Two Allscripts customers planning Baxter integration, though not until after 2014. Allscripts passively involved, as one site is planning to use iSirona’s medical device integration system.

Project Manager
Robert Ellis