Vein Finders In The Hospital

IV access is required across nearly every department in a hospital — from med-surg and the emergency department to oncology, imaging, and pre-operative care. In each of these settings, difficult venous access presents the same challenge: multiple attempts, increased patient discomfort, and additional time and resources spent before care can begin.

Over 300 million peripheral IVs are placed annually in the U.S., yet first-attempt success rates for staff nurses are only 44–77%. Every failed attempt wastes $28–$35 in supplies and labor, and triggers delays of 30–60 minutes when escalation to a second nurse is required. Vein visualization technology gives clinical staff a real-time map of the patient’s veins projected directly onto the skin, supporting more confident and efficient IV placement across departments and patient populations.

A Consistent Level of Care, Department to Department

Hospital patients vary widely in their venous access difficulty. Elderly patients, those with chronic conditions requiring frequent IV access, dehydrated patients, and patients with obesity all present greater challenges for peripheral IV placement. These populations are common in hospital settings and place consistent demands on nursing and clinical staff to locate veins that are not easily visible or palpable.

Vein imaging addresses this across the patient population by making vein location visible before access is attempted. Clinical studies show this technology reduces average IV insertion attempts from 2.3 sticks to just 1.18 sticks — a 49% reduction. The result is fewer attempts, reduced patient discomfort, and more time for clinical staff to focus on care rather than access.

The Financial Case

The costs of difficult venous access extend well beyond the IV attempt itself. When peripheral access fails repeatedly, the escalation cascade is expensive:

• $28–$35 wasted per additional stick attempt in supplies and labor
• $300–$1,000+ per unnecessary PICC line placed due to difficult venous access
• $48,108 per CLABSI infection — a CMS “never event” that hospitals absorb in full
• Reduced HCAHPS scores, putting up to 2% of Medicare payments at risk

For a 100-bed hospital, the estimated annual savings from deploying vein visualization technology across departments — including reduced stick attempts, nursing efficiency, PICC line avoidance, and CLABSI prevention — is $582,128, w

Benefits

• Vein imaging can improve first-stick success rates across hospital departments
• May reduce patient discomfort and anxiety associated with multiple IV attempts
• Supports clinical staff confidence with difficult venous access patients
• Can reduce costly escalations, unnecessary PICC placements, and CLABSI risk
• May improve HCAHPS scores related to IV access, protecting Medicare reimbursement
• Lightweight and portable — easy to share between departments and units
• Non-contact — no direct skin contact with the patient required

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