Group items tagged

Hospitals rank alarm fatigue as top patient safety concern. There are even hospitals that logged more than 2.5 million patient monitoring alarms in just one month. When exposed to too many alarms, alarm fatigue develops. This situation can result in sensory overload, which may cause the person to become desensitized to the alarms. Consequently, the response to alarms may be delayed, or alarms may be missed altogether. Studies show it is difficult for humans to differentiate among more than 6 different alarm sounds, the average number of alarms in an ICU has increased from 6 in 1983 to more than 40 different alarms in 2011. In addition, 80% to 99% of electrocardiographic (ECG) monitor alarms are false or clinically insignificant. Deaths have been attributed to alarm fatigue. Clinicians exposed each day to tens of thousands of alarms. The issue of alarm fatigue has become so significant that the Joint Commission, a national organization that accredits hospitals, named it a National Patient Safety Goal. This goal requires hospitals to establish alarm safety as a priority, identify the most important alarms and establish policies to manage alarms by January 2016. Experts agree that resolving problems with medical device alarms requires an interdisciplinary effort and buy-in from a wide array of players at the highest levels.