On this page
Asset Type
Manufacturer
Model
What This Guide Helps With
Troubleshooting missing infusion history, unavailable event records, incomplete data, failed log retrieval, or unsuccessful export caused by settings, connectivity, access, or software issues.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
1. Ensure Patient Safety First
Do not interrupt an active infusion solely to retrieve history or diagnostic data.
- Confirm the pump is delivering the prescribed therapy without active system alarms.
- Have clinical staff transfer the infusion to another verified pump before restarting, disconnecting, or removing the affected device.
- Do not change programming, clear records, or select a new patient merely to troubleshoot missing history.
- Preserve the pump in its current state when the records may be needed for a medication event, incident investigation, or patient-safety review.
Expected outcome: The patient remains safely supported, and potentially important event data is preserved.
If the pump is involved in a suspected adverse event, stop routine troubleshooting and follow the facility’s risk-management, evidence-preservation, and reporting procedures.
2. Clarify Which Information Is Missing
Determine exactly what the requester is attempting to obtain:
- Current-infusion information
- Previous infusion history
- Alarm or operational events
- Drug-library or dose-alert activity
- Device diagnostic information
- Data expected in the electronic medical record
- Data expected in Baxter reporting or fleet-management software
- A manually exported service or event file
Record the reported patient encounter, approximate date and time, pump serial number, care area, and whether the problem affects one pump or multiple pumps.
Expected outcome: The missing data source and intended destination are clearly identified.
3. Confirm the Correct Pump Was Identified
Verify the physical pump’s:
- Asset-control number
- Serial number
- Pump type, such as Novum IQ large-volume or syringe pump
- Assigned location
- Network or system registration, when available
Compare the identifiers with the pump listed in the EMR, integration system, server, or incident report.
Expected outcome: The investigation is being performed on the pump that delivered the reported infusion.
If the wrong pump was selected, locate the correct device and stop troubleshooting the unaffected unit.
4. Preserve Existing Records
Before restarting or reconfiguring the pump:
- Photograph or document any displayed history, alarms, error codes, date, and time.
- Do not clear the current patient, begin a test infusion, reset settings, or perform a software update.
- Do not factory-reset the pump.
- Notify risk management before further action when records are associated with an incident.
Expected outcome: Available evidence is retained before actions that could alter displayed information or system timestamps.
5. Check the Pump’s Date and Time
Compare the pump’s displayed date and time with an accurate facility clock.
Look for:
- Incorrect date
- Incorrect time
- Wrong time zone
- Daylight-saving-time discrepancy
- Significant clock drift
- Time that changed after power loss or service
Incorrect timestamps may make valid events appear missing or place them outside the searched reporting period.
Expected outcome: The pump clock is accurate and consistent with connected hospital systems.
If the clock is incorrect, document the difference before making authorized corrections. Recheck the event search using the adjusted time range.
6. Review Locally Available History
Using only authorized user or service-access functions, determine whether the requested records are visible on the pump.
Check whether:
- Recent events are displayed
- Older events are unavailable
- History pages are blank
- The menu is disabled
- The pump reports an access, storage, or system error
- The requested information is located under a different history category
Do not enter undocumented service codes or attempt to bypass access controls.
Expected outcome: Clinical Engineering determines whether the records exist locally or are missing only from an external system.
If the information is available locally, document it or retrieve it through the facility-approved process. The pump itself may not be the source of the failure.
7. Verify User Access and Export Permissions
Confirm that the account, application, or workstation being used has permission to:
- View infusion history
- Access device events
- Search the correct care area
- Retrieve records for the selected date range
- Export or download reports
- Save files to the selected location
Try an approved account known to have the required access.
Expected outcome: The failure is not caused by insufficient privileges, an expired account, or a restricted workstation.
If the authorized account works, correct the access issue and stop.
8. Check Search and Report Filters
Review all filters in the receiving application or reporting system, including:
- Pump serial number
- Asset identifier
- Care area
- Facility
- Patient encounter
- Date and time range
- Pump type
- Event category
- Report status
- Archived versus active records
Expand the search period to account for clock differences or delayed data transmission.
Expected outcome: Existing records are not being excluded by an incorrect filter.
If the data appears after correcting the filters, the pump does not require repair.
9. Inspect External Connections and Accessories
When the approved export process requires a physical connection, inspect the applicable:
- Baxter-approved communication cable
- USB or network adapter
- Docking or interface connection
- Workstation port
- Connector pins and housings
- Approved removable media, when applicable
Look for bent pins, contamination, looseness, damaged insulation, or an unsupported accessory. Reseat the connection and test with a known-good approved cable or workstation.
Expected outcome: The physical data path is secure and undamaged.
If replacing an external cable or adapter restores export, document the failed accessory and stop.
10. Verify Network Connectivity
When history is transmitted through the hospital network, review the pump’s connectivity indicators and available network status information.
Confirm with IT or the infusion-system administrator:
- The pump is connected to the expected wireless network
- The pump is associated with the correct facility
- Required servers are reachable
- Network credentials or certificates are current
- The device has not been blocked or quarantined
- Firewall, VLAN, DNS, or routing changes have not interrupted communication
- Other Novum IQ pumps are transmitting normally
Do not alter network configuration without an approved configuration record and coordination with the responsible system administrator.
Expected outcome: The pump has a valid communication path to the intended Baxter or hospital system.
If several pumps are affected, prioritize investigation of the network, server, interface engine, or reporting application rather than individual pump replacement.
11. Check for Pending or Delayed Transmission
Determine whether the pump has recently:
- Been outside wireless coverage
- Been powered off for an extended period
- Been moved between facilities or care areas
- Lost network association
- Received a software or configuration update
- Reconnected after server downtime
Allow the pump to remain powered, connected to approved external power, and within verified network coverage according to facility procedure. Then recheck the receiving system.
Expected outcome: Stored records transmit after connectivity is restored.
If the records appear after reconnection, document the temporary communication interruption and stop.
12. Test With a Controlled Nonclinical Event
Only after required records have been preserved, remove the pump from patient use and create a controlled test event according to facility policy.
For example:
- Power the pump on and off normally.
- Generate a permitted nonclinical test alarm.
- Record the exact test time.
- Check whether the event appears locally.
- Check whether it reaches the connected reporting system.
- Attempt the approved export process.
Do not use medication-specific patient data or perform an actual infusion unless required by an authorized Baxter test procedure.
Expected outcome: The test identifies whether the failure is local to the pump, limited to transmission, or located in the receiving system.
If the test event appears locally but not externally, escalate the communication or server path rather than assuming a pump hardware failure.
13. Perform an Authorized Restart
If no incident data must be preserved and the pump is no longer supporting a patient:
- Confirm the infusion has been safely transferred.
- Record all displayed messages.
- Perform a normal shutdown.
- Disconnect external accessories that are not required for startup.
- Restart the pump using the normal operator procedure.
- Recheck history access and export.
Do not remove batteries, reload software, or perform an undocumented reset.
Expected outcome: A temporary application or communication condition clears without loss of required records.
If normal history and export functions return, complete a functional check before returning the pump to service.
14. Compare With a Known-Good Novum IQ Pump
Using the same authorized account, workstation, network location, and export method, test a known-good Novum IQ pump.
- If both pumps fail, investigate the workstation, network, application, or server.
- If only the original pump fails, suspect a pump-specific configuration, software, communication, or storage problem.
Expected outcome: The source of the failure is narrowed to either the individual pump or the surrounding infrastructure.
If comparison identifies an external system problem, coordinate correction with IT, pharmacy informatics, or the Baxter system administrator.
15. Review Software and Configuration Status
Compare the affected pump with the facility’s approved Novum IQ configuration records.
Verify:
- Approved software version
- Correct facility assignment
- Current network configuration
- Correct drug-library association
- Required integration features are enabled
- No incomplete update or configuration deployment is reported
Do not independently install software or reload configuration unless trained, authorized, and following current Baxter procedures.
Expected outcome: The pump matches the facility’s validated software and connectivity baseline.
If the configuration is incorrect, have the responsible Baxter-trained or system-authorized personnel restore the approved configuration.
If the Problem Persists
If identifiers, timestamps, permissions, filters, external connections, network access, receiving systems, and authorized restart procedures have been checked, common external causes have been ruled out.
The failure may involve internal storage, pump software, communication hardware, corrupted records, or a system-level integration problem.
The device should be:
- Removed from service
- Labeled Out of Service
- Preserved without further testing when involved in an incident
- Sent for Baxter-authorized repair or bench evaluation
- Escalated to the facility’s Baxter system administrator, IT integration team, pharmacy informatics group, or Baxter Technical Support as appropriate
Provide the pump serial number, software version, exact timestamps, screenshots, displayed errors, network status, affected report type, and results from comparison testing.
Knowing when to stop prevents alteration of important event data and is proper troubleshooting.
Clinical Use Tip
Do not restart, reassign, clear, or test a pump that is actively infusing or may contain evidence from a medication event. Transfer the patient first and preserve the device state.
Work Order Documentation (CCR Method)
CCR = Complaint, Cause, Resolution
Complaint
What was reported by the clinical staff.
Example:
"Clinical staff reported that infusion history from Baxter Novum IQ pump serial number NIQ104872 did not appear in the reporting system for the overnight patient encounter."
Cause
What was observed during troubleshooting.
Example:
"Recent events were visible on the pump, but the device was not connected to the hospital wireless network and had not transmitted its stored data."
Resolution
What action was taken.
Example:
"Removed the pump from patient use, restored the approved network connection with IT, confirmed transmission of a controlled test event, completed operational checks, and returned the pump to service."
Helpful Details to Include (If Known)
- Patient safely transferred before testing
- Pump preserved for incident review
- Asset and serial numbers verified
- Large-volume or syringe pump identified
- Date and time verified
- Clock difference documented
- Local history available
- Exact missing date range recorded
- Search filters reviewed
- User permissions verified
- Cables or adapters tested
- Network status recorded
- Other pumps tested
- Receiving server or application status checked
- Controlled test-event time documented
- Software version recorded
- Error messages photographed
- Final device status documented
Final Thought
Infusion-history failures require both technical troubleshooting and careful evidence preservation. Protect the patient first, identify where the data path fails, avoid altering existing records, and escalate pump-specific faults appropriately. Detailed CCR documentation supports Clinical Engineering, pharmacy, IT, risk management, and Baxter service personnel.
That is successful troubleshooting.