Establishes standards for product evaluation, selection, inspection, problem reporting, and supply chain disruption management to ensure vascular access devices and infusion products meet the highest standards of safety, efficacy, and reliability.
Establishes standards for safe handling and disposal of regulated medical waste, sharps safety, needlestick injury prevention, use of safety-engineered devices, injury reporting, and patient and caregiver education for home infusion waste management.
Establishes standards for minimizing latex exposure, identifying at-risk patients and healthcare workers, managing allergic reactions, and ensuring latex-free care environments for latex-sensitive and latex-allergic individuals.
Establishes comprehensive standards for the safe handling, preparation, administration, and disposal of hazardous drugs across all care settings, including PPE requirements, engineering controls, environmental monitoring, spill management, and medical surveillance programs.
Establishes comprehensive standards for preventing, recognizing, and responding to controlled substance diversion in healthcare settings, including chain of custody requirements, waste management, detection methods, and recovery support for affected healthcare workers.
Establishes comprehensive standards for identifying, documenting, investigating, and learning from adverse events, serious adverse events, and near-miss incidents associated with vascular access devices and infusion therapy.
This comprehensive guide outlines evidence-based principles of vascular access and infusion therapy across the lifespan, including neonatal, pediatric, obstetric, and geriatric populations. It covers regulatory compliance, ethical practice, device selection, infusion accuracy, and population-specific risks such as DEHP exposure, DIVA management, pregnancy-related hypercoagulability, and geriatric polypharmacy. Designed for clinicians, nurses, and vascular access specialists, this resource supports safe, patient-centered decision-making aligned with current standards of care.
Establishes the organizational framework for continuous quality improvement in vascular access services, including the adoption of validated QI methodologies, audit and feedback mechanisms, adverse event surveillance, medication safety integration, and the maintenance of a Just Culture environment.
Mandates comprehensive, health-literacy-appropriate patient and caregiver education for all vascular access and infusion therapy encounters, defines the required educational content, and establishes the teach-back and return demonstration standards for verification of learning.
Mandates the integration of vascular access expertise into cross-disciplinary institutional safety programs and establishes the standards for safe care transitions involving patients with indwelling vascular access devices across acute, community, home, and long-term care settings.
Mandates that all vascular access device selection, antiseptic agent selection, and infusion technology decisions be rooted in demonstrated clinical evidence and patient outcomes, and establishes the systematic clinical monitoring requirements for all vascular access devices.
Establishes the standards, framework, and requirements for initial and ongoing competency assessment and validation for all clinicians performing vascular access and infusion therapy procedures, including educational delivery methods, simulation requirements, insertion training protocols, and program evaluation metrics.
Establishes standards for the safe insertion of all vascular access devices, including peripheral intravenous catheters, central venous access devices, and arterial catheters, with requirements for aseptic technique, ultrasound guidance, and complication management.
Establishes supplementary infection prevention standards beyond standard precautions for patients with known or suspected communicable disease, including contact, droplet, and airborne precaution requirements, enhanced barrier precautions in long-term care, and crisis standards for pandemic response.
Evidence-based guidelines for the prevention, assessment, and management of catheter-associated skin injury (CASI) and medical adhesive-related skin injury (MARSI) in patients with peripheral and central vascular access devices, including risk assessment, dressing selection, atraumatic removal techniques, and management of established injury.
Establishes requirements for evidence-based pain assessment and management during vascular access procedures across all patient populations, from neonates through adults.
Establishes standards for blood specimen collection from peripheral venipuncture, arterial puncture, peripheral intravenous catheters, central venous access devices, and intraosseous access devices, including patient identification, blood conservation, preanalytical error prevention, and blood culture collection requirements.
Evidence-based standards for preventing air embolism during vascular access procedures, including CVAD removal protocols, recognition of signs and symptoms, and emergency response for suspected venous or arterial air embolism.
Establishes comprehensive standards for hand hygiene practice across all care settings, including indications, approved techniques, product selection, fingernail and jewelry standards, and organizational compliance strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections.
Establishes requirements for the selection, use, configuration, disinfection, and replacement of add-on devices in vascular access infusion systems, including extension sets, manifolds, stopcocks, filters, and closed system transfer devices.
Establishes standards for protecting vascular access device insertion sites from dislodgement, patient manipulation, and environmental contamination, including joint stabilization practices and the judicious and restrained use of physical immobilization methods.
Evidence-based standards for identifying risk factors for catheter-associated thrombosis, preventing thrombotic complications through device selection and insertion technique, monitoring and diagnosing DVT, and managing confirmed thrombosis including anticoagulation therapy across diverse patient populations.
Establishes standards for flow-control device selection and use in infusion therapy, including electronic infusion pumps, smart pump dose error reduction systems, non-electronic devices, alarm management, and organizational standardization requirements.
Establishes requirements for in-line filtration of parenteral solutions, including mandatory filters for parenteral nutrition and intraspinal infusions, filter selection principles, population-specific indications, change intervals, safety precautions, and prohibited practices.
Standards for preventing, assessing, and managing vascular access device occlusion, including thrombotic and chemical causes, thrombolytic therapy, and catheter clearance agents.
Evidence-based standards for preventing, recognizing, and managing bloodstream infections associated with peripheral and central vascular access devices, including care bundles, diagnostic criteria, and device removal decisions.
Establishes standards for the warming of blood products, intravenous fluids, and contrast media, including device requirements, temperature limits, prohibited methods, monitoring obligations, and quality assurance for all patient populations including neonates.
Establishes requirements for the securement of all vascular access devices to prevent complications associated with dislodgement and movement at the insertion site, including acceptable securement methods, device-specific guidance, and assessment standards.
Establishes baseline infection prevention standards applicable to all patient care activities regardless of diagnosis, including personal protective equipment selection and use, respiratory hygiene, equipment cleaning and disinfection, and care practices across transitional settings.
Evidence-based guidance for recognizing anatomical nerve injury risks during vascular access procedures, employing preventive strategies, and managing nerve-related complications.
Establishes standards for the selection and application of vascular visualization technology—including ultrasound, near-infrared, and visible light devices—to improve vascular access insertion success and reduce complications across all patient populations.
Establishes requirements for selection, disinfection, flushing and clamping sequences, replacement intervals, and infection prevention practices for all needleless connectors used on peripheral and central vascular access devices.
Standards of practice for the prevention, recognition, and management of infiltration and extravasation from peripheral and central vascular access devices, including antidote protocols.
Evidence-based standards for the classification, prevention, assessment, and management of phlebitis associated with peripheral and central vascular access devices.
Establishes standards for central vascular access device tip location confirmation, including acceptable tip positions, real-time tip location methods, re-evaluation protocols, transfer criteria, and documentation requirements for all patient populations.