Vascular Access In Australia
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- 1 in 2 patients experience more than one IV insertion attempt. Some patients experience >5 attempts.
- Using dedicated and ultrasound trained IV inserters could improve first insertion rate from 50% to 95% saving patients multiple unnecessary needlesticks;
- As many as 1 in 4 central venous devices and up to half of peripheral venous devices fail before the completion of prescribed treatment.
- Reducing failure in peripheral IVs by 10% could save 2.4 million unnecessary needlesticks for patients and save the Australian healthcare system $175 million per year.
- Up to 1 in 12 high risk patient may experience IV related bloodstream infection.
- Approximately 10,000 central IV related bloodstream infections occur in Australian hospitals each year. Each infection prevented saves the healthcare system $50 000 per patient, not to mention improving outcomes.
We believe that with the right people, practice and products, we can deliver better IV care.
Let’s aim for
One patient. One IV.
One episode of care. No Complications.
In August 2012 Australian Health Ministers agreed to the first set of Australian Safety and Quality Goals for Health Care.
These Goals are:
- Safety of care: That people receive health care without experiencing preventable harm
- Appropriateness of care: That people receive appropriate, evidence-based care
- Partnering with consumers: That there are effective partnerships between consumers and healthcare providers and organisations at levels of healthcare provision, planning and evaluation.
Actions to achieve the Goals can occur in different ways and in different parts of the health system.
Everyone has a role to play in this process.
Let’s make vascular access complications history
“If we are not applying evidenced based practice in
each and every part of our practice,
we are potentially doing harm.”
Emily Larsen RN, AVATAR Researcher
Protecting 5 million lives from harm
"The names of the patients whose lives we save can never be known. Our contribution will be what did not happen to them.”
Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, President Emeritus, Institute for Healthcare Improvement
