Med One Blog

This isn’t news to you, but hospitals are amazing places that save lives every day. Hospitals seem to be adding more and more services, so they can help with almost every medical problem. When we go to the hospital we expect to get better, not worse. And that's usually how the process goes! However, one of the most common medical errors today that sets patients back has to do with intravenous (IV) drug administration. Fortunately, there is a solution.

One of the most common forms of treatment offered at hospitals is intravenous (IV) administration. An IV administers a fluid or medication directly into the patient's bloodstream. Typically this is one of the first things the nurse will take care of once you have been admitted to the hospital. The fluid is contained in a small bag on a stand so it can drip down easily. It then travels down a tube, goes through a needle that is penetrating the skin, and makes its way directly into the bloodstream. An IV pump regulates the amount of fluid that comes out of the IV bag.

By Ibby Smith Stofer

Imagine that you have just come home with plans to fix your noisy refrigerator that is not cooling correctly. You are then greeted by your 7-year-old who informs you that Mom is in a bad mood. You ask why and are told that not only is the TV not working, but the washing machine died with a full load of sopping wet clothes.

Although intravenous therapy is an extremely common sight in hospitals and healthcare facilities across the nation, most of us don't give a lot of thought into the history of the IV. While IV infusion therapy is relatively new, the concept behind it can be traced back centuries. In today's post, we'll take a brief look at the history of IV infusion therapy and how we've arrived where we are today.

As of 2013, it was estimated that spending one day in a hospital in the United States costs $4,293. There's a smattering of reasons the cost of a hospital stay is so high, but less attention is paid to medical equipment to being one of those reasons.

By Ibby Smith Stofer

As the new year begins we have the chance to reflect on the prior year’s accomplishments and learning experiences. This provides a great opportunity to recall feelings of success, and look for what could have made a difference when we may have missed the mark.