Evidence-based protocols for vascular access teams. Standardized procedures built on clinical research and institutional best practices.
Standardize for your teamEstablishes 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.
Establishes the legal, ethical, and procedural requirements for obtaining, documenting, and maintaining informed consent for vascular access procedures, including the components of the consent discussion, requirements for emergency situations, and provisions for patients who lack decision-making capacity.
Establishes the foundational principles governing the administration of infusion therapy and the management of vascular access devices across all specialized patient populations, including pediatric, neonatal, obstetric, and geriatric cohorts.
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 organizational commitment to evidence-based practice in vascular access, mandates the continuous revision of policies based on current research, defines the implementation science framework for translating evidence into bedside practice, and outlines the infrastructure requirements for supporting clinician-researchers.
Establishes the standards, requirements, and minimum data elements for clinical documentation of all vascular access events—from insertion through removal—in the electronic health record, including insertion documentation, ongoing assessment, medication administration, and the integration of EHR clinical decision support tools.
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.