The PICC team

Abstract

What is a PICC team? Is a PICC team an individual that is a proceduralist or a group that is looking at the entire process from placement to therapy completion? PICC teams are not necessarily started by nursing but are initiated by a champion from varying departments. The PICC team can be initiated by a physician wanting to improve outcomes, radiology or ICU to facilitate timeliness of line placement, or by patient safety or quality to improve outcomes. The champion who initiates the program can be a nurse manager, physician, pharmacist, hospital administrator, or infection prevention official. The key to success in creating a team is to have the appropriate amount of labor hours, the employee who has initiative to take on new things, and a comprehensive training process. Programs that try to train nurses all over the facility are not as successful as a dedicated team. Building a strong foundation and business case not only justifies a program but solidifies it. A PICC line is a key vascular access device for short- to long-term therapy and has been utilized for almost 40 years all over the world to deliver chemotherapy, antibiotics, nutritional support, vasodilators, pain control, and blood. The PICC line is utilized in various settings from homecare, skilled care, hospital, outpatient and inpatient hospital. You have to have a competent team of clinicians to insert, care, educate, and plan device selection. The PICC team is critical to this process.