Patient survey: Excessive needlesticks during hospital visits impede workflow

Editor's Note

A new survey finds that hospital patients receive more needlesticks than necessary, negatively impacting their experience and contributing to workflow issues. The survey was published March 27 by medical technology company BD and conducted by the Harris Poll.

More than 1 in 10 (11%) of 2,006 surveyed adults, including those who had received IV therapy or blood draws during a hospital stay during the past 24 months, 11% required 10 or more sticks to obtain a single blood sample. More than half needed multiple needlestick attempts for one procedure (59% for IVs and 71% for blood draws).

In addition to creating a negative patient experience, multiple needlesticks can also damage a patient's vessel health and delay care. Over 90% of nurses surveyed expressed concern about repeat needlesticks and would like to see them reduced to improve the patient experience and reduce workflow inefficiencies. Nonetheless, most surveyed patients (77%) were unaware that they should not receive more than two needlestick attempts from one clinician.

The findings point to a need to find alternate solutions to improve patient outcomes—including adopting new technologies such as ultrasound guidance systems and needle-free blood collection that utilizes existing IV lines.