Patient Safety Alert 4: PCA Pump Alarm Safety Concerns (PDF)
The AMC PSO has identified a series of practices employed to address the factors that can contribute to risk associated with ambulatory pumps.
STRATEGIES AND TACTICS
When using pumps for both IV administered medications and non-IV administered medications:
- Reduce the risk of confusing these two by using cassettes for the IV route (PCA) and bags for the non-IV route (epidurals or peripheral nerve blocks).

Library of All AMC PSO Patient Safety Alerts
For even more patient safety alert material, please review our series of AMC PSO Patient Safety Alerts to understand the variety of topics covered by our members. AMC PSO makes patient safety learnings available to the public as part of CRICO’s ongoing commitment towards improving patient safety across the continuum of care.
