Usability Challenges and Safety Risks of Medical Infusion Pumps: A User-Centered Analysis Across Clinical Roles and Experience Levels in Saudi Arabia

Background: Medication errors involving intravenous (IV) therapy remain a major patient safety challenge. Evaluating the usability and safety of Medical Infusion Pumps (MIPs) is critical to identifying risk sources and improving clinical practice. Objective: This study aims to characterize the types, frequencies, and severities of MIP-related medication errors in Saudi Arabia and to identify statistically significant factors associated with these errors. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered to 387 healthcare providers across multiple hospitals. Participants rated the frequency and impact of 26 MIP problems across five domains. Statistical analyses included ANOVA and effect size calculations. Results: Significant differences were found across job roles for nearly all problem classes ( p < 0.05). Less experienced users reported significantly higher frequencies of Human Factors issues ( p = 0.024). Specialty pumps demonstrated significantly higher User Interface problem frequencies compared with traditional pumps ( p = 0.046). Pump connectivity to Hospital Information Systems (HIS) was also significantly associated with higher perceived problem frequencies across all domains ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: The findings highlight critical usability concerns—particularly related to UI design, human factors, and system integration—that significantly impact MIP safety. Targeted training for less experienced users and user-centered design improvements are essential to reducing medication errors. Keywords: medical infusion pumps, medical errors, usability, risks, safety