myIV.com Encourages Patients to Take Advocate Pledge

This month, patients were asked to take a pledge to be their own advocate by sharing their intravenous (IV) therapy stories to help others learn more about the procedure. The #BeYourOwnIVAdvocate campaign is hosted on myIV.com, a resource that provides answers to questions about IVs – from the most basic to complex. Sponsored by ivWatch, myIV.com is the first online patient resource of its kind providing visitors simplified information about IVs to foster an informed community of current and future patients.

Nearly 80 percent of all hospital patients receive an IV1, and with more than 150 million placed each year in the U.S., it is one of the most common invasive medical procedures performed. Close to 50 percent of IVs fail due to complications, such as an infiltration, when the fluid or medication intended for the vein leaks into the surrounding tissue. Every failure of an IV results in a drug delivery error and carries the potential for reduced drug effectiveness and physical harm. The myIV.com types of IV failure video educates patients on the symptoms to look out for of the most common complications, like infiltration and phlebitis.

The #BeYourOwnIVAdvocate campaign is focused on empowering patients and family caregivers with knowledge of what to know before a hospital visit. The IV 101: The Basics guide includes:

• Why patients need IVs
• How IVs are used
• The different types of IVs
• IV Risks

Barby Ingle shared a horrifying experience in a recent video interview about waking up in the middle of surgery due to an infiltration of her anesthesia medication. The WEGO Health Patient Leader stated the importance of getting informed ahead of a hospital visit, “Get the information that you need now, plant the seeds in your brain ahead of time so when you are in that emergency situation and you need help, you can remember back to what you learned on [myIV.com].”

To #BeYourOwnIVAdvocate and help build and foster a community of IV empowerment, take the pledge at myiv.com/be-your-own-iv-advocate/.

1 Zhang, L., Cao, S., Marsh, N., Ray-Barruel, G., Flynn, J., Larsen, E. and Rickard, C.M. (2016) Infection risks associated with peripheral vascular catheters. Journal of Infection Prevention. 17(5), p.207-213. doi: 10.1177/1757177416655472

About myIV.com

myIV.com is an online patient resource portal dedicated to empowering patients with information on all things IV, simplified. As the first website of its kind focused on IVs and IV therapy, myIV.com fills the gap in patient education and makes IVs easier to understand. myIV.com is sponsored by ivWatch. Help raise #myIVawareness on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest. For more information, visit www.myIV.com.

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