The Hidden Risk in IV Push Medication Administration

In fast paced clinical environments, IV push medications are administered every day, often within seconds and under significant pressure. While this method is efficient and necessary in many situations, it also introduces a critical and often overlooked variable: the rate at which the medication is delivered.

Unlike IV infusions, which are usually controlled by pumps, IV push medications rely heavily on manual administration. This means the speed of delivery is frequently based on estimation, habit, or memory of guidelines. Even among highly skilled clinicians, variability in push rate is inevitable.

The challenge is simple:

There is currently no standardized, real-time feedback mechanism to guide IV push administration, nor is there a way to track compliance with prescribed rates.

This matters more than it may seem. Many medications have recommended administration rates for a reason. Delivering them too quickly or too slowly can impact the effectiveness and, in some cases, patient safety. In high acuity settings such as intensive care units and emergency departments, clinicians are often balancing multiple priorities at once. In these moments, precision can be difficult to maintain, even with the best intentions.

Through our experiences in nursing and emergency medicine, we've seen firsthand just how much IV push administration depends on human judgement. While clinical training and protocols provide guidance, the actual execution at the bedside remains largely unassisted.

This gap led us to start asking the question: what if clinicians had real-time feedback during IV push medication administration?

At FlowSense Medical, this question became the foundation for our work. We are developing PushSense, a smart syringe accessory designed to provide immediate, intuitive feedback to support more consistent and controlled medication delivery.

Our goal is not to replace clinical judgement, but to enhance it. By introducing real-time feedback into a process that has traditionally relied on estimation, we believe there is an opportunity to improve consistency, reduce variability, and support safer patient care.

This is just the beginning of our journey. As we continue developing and refining PushSense, we look forward to sharing more about our progress, insights, and the future of IV push safety.

If you're a clinician, engineer, or healthcare professional interested in this space, we invite you to follow along and be part of the conversation!

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Joseph Monroe & Gabrielle Redmond

Co-Founders, FlowSense Medical LLC