Advantages in Management and Remote Monitoring of Intravenous Therapy: Exploratory Survey and Economic Evaluation of Gravity-Based Infusions in Finland

• Published in: Advances in therapy 2022-05, Vol.39 (5), p.2096-2108
• Main Authors: Puolitaival, Antti, Savola, Mikko, Tuomainen, Petri, Asseburg, Christian, Lundström, Tuomas, Soini, Erkki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cardiology; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Endocrinology; Finland; Humans; Internal Medicine; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Oncology; Original Research; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Rheumatology; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 0741-238X; 1865-8652
• DOI: 10.1007/s12325-022-02093-6

Introduction Intravenous infusion therapy is a common and challenging invasive treatment procedure in hospital wards. Administration mistakes can have serious, even life-threatening, consequences. The Monidor solution was developed to help nurses administer gravity-based infusions and monitor them remotely, to avoid complications and reduce workload. Its real-world effects and economic consequences were unknown. Methods An exploratory survey was carried out to estimate the potential impact of the Monidor solution on events and nurse time use. At the end of their shift, nurses estimated effects in terms of routine room visits avoided, prevention of complications, and impact on nurse time requirements. Linear regression was applied to estimate predictors of time freed. A health economic model was developed to evaluate economic consequences and to calculate the net return on investment for a hypothetical hospital ward. A 1-month time horizon was used, and discounting was not applied. Results A total of 216 responses were obtained from 6 Finnish hospitals, from a total of 15 wards, and 56.3% of nurses found that the Monidor solution freed nurse time, while