Smart Pumps 2024
Go-Forward Plans Impacted by Recalls & New Technology

Remediation of the BD Alaris Drives Energy across Market; Price Drives Many BD Customers to Re-Sign, though Some Regret Staying

Recently, BD received FDA approval for the updated Alaris pump after a significant ship-hold of over three years due to several FDA recalls. While all major smart pump vendors have had recalls in the last three years, BD’s ship-hold was the longest and most impactful to the market. Thus, the remediation of the pump has heightened market energy, with many healthcare organizations considering updating their pump fleet sooner than anticipated. During the ship-hold, the Alaris pump couldn’t be purchased, but overall, the BD recalls haven’t negatively impacted potential customers’ plans to consider BD—they are top of mind for many organizations due to BD’s strong market presence and clinicians’ familiarity with the pump. Additionally, BD has the highest number of customers live with EHR integration with both LVP and syringe pumps.

The ship-hold’s resolution has also driven current BD customers to evaluate their options—80% of BD respondents plan to update their fleet within the next three years. While the recalls haven’t negatively impacted potential customers’ perceptions, the extended nature of the ship-hold frustrated current interviewed customers, so most planning to update are considering other vendors. Respondents say that to retain customers post-recall and encourage remediation, BD offered competitive pricing structures too advantageous to pass up. Additionally, respondents report that to increase the value of the remediation, BD offered remediation free for newer pumps that still have remaining service life; however, the cost of remediation for older pumps has led to several reports of nickel-and-diming. Some respondents who have remediated their pumps are satisfied, but the majority of remediated customers are unsure whether they will stay with BD when next replacing their pumps; the most-dissatisfied customers are even considering switching before their pumps’ end of life. Still, many respondents will likely stay with BD, as they feel the vendor’s competitive pricing structures would make leaving too costly. The respondents with potential or in-progress plans to move away from BD cite pump safety as a top priority when evaluating new vendors; a few very dissatisfied respondents have concerns due to experiencing pump-safety events.

EHR Integration Most Impactful to Go-Forward Plans; Baxter’s Focus on & ICU Medical’s Experience with Integration Drives Market Interest

Bidirectional pump-EHR integration is named the most impactful factor to future purchase decisions and is a critical component of pump utilization and satisfaction. Customers of all vendors report that EHR integration (1) simplifies workflows and programming and (2) improves dosing and documentation accuracy. Despite highly valuing integration, less than half of respondents are live with EHR integration, demonstrating the need for further prioritization of this functionality. Baxter, BD (as mentioned above), and ICU Medical are often highlighted for their focus on integration, driving potential considerations for future purchase plans.

Best in KLAS 2024 winner for traditional pumps, Baxter has increasingly focused on providing integration for new customers—all new interviewed customers (gone live in last two years) report they have had EHR integration from the start. Additionally, in the last year, the total number of respondents live with EHR integration has more than doubled. The increased integration has led to greater satisfaction overall, with respondents live with integration frequently highlighting the system’s ease of use and automated programming. Some customers note challenges during the integration implementation, such as having to re-create the drug library. Baxter is reported to have handled remediation after their recent recall fairly well, though respondents generally want the vendor to more proactively communicate about issues. While 27% of interviewed customers say they will likely replace the Baxter pump upon their next update, respondents generally want to keep the pump for as long as possible—45% plan to keep it for longer than three years.

ICU Medical—Best in KLAS 2024 winner for EHR-integrated pumps—also has a high number of respondents reporting live EHR integration, with many others in the planning or go-live stages. EHR integration is a common driver for ICU Medical considerations, and multiple current customers chose the vendor specifically for their focus on integration. Respondents report mixed experiences with the vendor’s support—satisfied customers appreciate their account representative’s proactive communication, while the smallest customers often report difficulty in connecting to a person who can solve problems and provide training. The most-dissatisfied respondents are frustrated with the reliability of the pump’s standard functionality, and some report bugs and challenges with the pump’s usability.

Many B. Braun Customers Unsure about Future Plans & Want Expanded EHR Integration; New Player Fresenius Kabi* Emerging in Market as Strong Contender

In addition to being a top consideration when purchasing a new pump, EHR integration is also a strong indicator of customer retention. Across most vendors, all interviewed customers live with integration plan to stay with their vendor long term (with the exception of a few frustrated BD customers). Integration continues to be top of mind for B. Braun respondents, though only a small portion is live with integration. B. Braun is the only fully rated vendor with no respondents planning to leave within a year, though many are unsure about their plans or will likely switch when next updating their pump fleet. When customers of other vendors were asked who they would likely choose when selecting a new vendor, B. Braun was the least mentioned. One respondent said they deinstalled integration due to connectivity challenges, though they are unsure whether the problem lies with their organization, the vendor, or the infrastructure. That said, live respondents generally appreciate the ease of use for their nurses. Additionally, interviewed customers feel that B. Braun offers a strong, consistent vendor relationship, keeps their promises, and provides helpful support and troubleshooting for the hardware and software.

A relatively new vendor in the US smart pump market, Fresenius Kabi* isn’t often top of mind for healthcare organizations asked who they would likely select when updating their pump fleet. However, when the vendor is considered in actual purchase decisions validated by KLAS, they are often seriously considered, leading to a high win rate. Interviewed current customers note that nurses appreciate that the large touch screens, paired with strong vendor training, make the pump easy to use.

*Limited data

This report mainly looks at customers’ upcoming plans and what is top of mind for future decisions. For insights on actual purchase decisions made in the last 24 months, see the smart pumps page on KLAS’ website.

About This Report

Each year, KLAS interviews thousands of healthcare professionals about the IT solutions and services their organizations use. For this report, interviews were conducted July 2023 to July 2024 using KLAS’ standard quantitative evaluation for healthcare software, which is composed of 16 numeric ratings questions and 4 yes/no questions, all weighted equally. Combined, the ratings for these questions make up the overall performance score, which is measured on a 100-point scale. The questions are organized into six customer experience pillars—culture, loyalty, operations, product, relationship, and value.

In addition to the questions asked in the standard evaluation, KLAS asked the following supplemental questions specific to the smart pump market:

1. When are you next planning on updating your infusion pump fleet and why?
2. What are the top three factors that will have the most impact on your organization’s next pump purchase decision?
3. When you next update your pump, do you plan to keep or move away from your current pump vendor?
4. Based on what you know of the market today, which vendor will you likely select when it comes time to update your pump fleet, and why?

Sample Sizes

Unless otherwise noted, sample sizes displayed throughout this report (e.g., n=16) represent the total number of unique customer organizations interviewed for a given vendor or solution. However, it should be noted that to allow for the representation of differing perspectives within any one customer organization, samples may include surveys from different individuals at the same organization. The table below shows the total number of unique organizations interviewed for each vendor or solution as well as the total number of individual respondents.

Some respondents choose not to answer particular questions, meaning the sample size for any given vendor or solution can change from question to question. When the number of unique organization responses for a particular question is less than 15, the score for that question is marked with an asterisk (*) or otherwise designated as “limited data.” If the sample size is less than 6, no score is shown. Where textual content relies on limited data, the vendor name is marked with an asterisk. Note that when a vendor has a low number of reporting sites, the possibility exists for KLAS scores to change significantly as new surveys are collected.