This post is sponsored by Sprint and is the tenth article in a 12-part series on mobilizing healthcare for improved communication.
Just about every healthcare provider is familiar with alarm fatigue.1 Between nurse calls, pumps and monitors, clinicians on a typical hospital unit with 30 beds are inundated with a tremendous number of alarms.1 Because of the sheer volume of alarms, clinicians have learned to block them out – thus rendering the alarms less effective.1
The problem: these alarms represent individual systems, such as pumps, trying to attract the attention of a clinician for a specific reason.1 Yet it might be difficult for a clinician to discern from the alarm itself whether the need is an urgent request – an increase in pain medications, for instance – or simply a patient who needs a glass of water.1 Not every alarm is created equal.1
In fact, it is estimated that more than 85 percent of alarm signals do not require clinical intervention, according to a report by the Joint Commission, which accredits and certifies more than 20,500 healthcare organizations and programs in the U.S.2 But an alarm missed due to alarm fatigue could be the one that kills a patient.3
The commission is working to increase the safety of clinical alarm systems through improved policies and procedures.4 This includes requesting that hospitals update procedures on how alarms are assessed and managed.3
Another way to combat alarm fatigue is to make alarms more specific – that is, to create alarms that alert individuals to the needs of only their patients.1 Instead of a nurse call system that alerts all 10 nurses on a floor, only the nurse assigned to the calling patient would get the alert.1 If that nurse is busy and can’t answer the alarm, the task would be assigned to another available nurse.1
These individual alerts, which would be pushed to clinicians via their smartphones in the form of audible alerts or vibrating messages, are the best way to combat alarm fatigue.1 With a lot fewer alarms vying for a clinician’s attention, the clinician can much better prioritize – and act on – the alarms.1
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Read the earlier articles in this series:
The value of communication coordination among the care team
What are the best ways to handle care transitions?
The communication pitfalls of multidisciplinary approaches to treating patients
The five worst things about being a doctor (from a tech perspective)
5 best smartphone advances for doctors in the past 5 years
The pros and cons of BYOD (bring your own device)
The problems with charging racks and shared computers in hospitals
Mobile Heartbeat provides comprehensive solution to clinicians’ communication needs
How getting the right information quickly can minimize risk in a clinical setting
- James Webb, vice president of strategic accounts for Mobile Heartbeat, granted permission for all of his direct quotes and indirect quotes to be used in this article. Interview date: February 5, 2015.
- Medical device alarm safety in hospitals, http://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/18/sea_50_alarms_4_5_13_final1.pdf, March 11, 2015.
- Mike Detjen, vice president of business development for Mobile Heartbeat, granted permission for all of his direct quotes and indirect quotes to be used in this article. Interview date: February 5, 2015.
- National Patient Safety Goal on Alarm Management, http://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/18/jcp0713_announce_new_nspg.pdf, March 11, 2015.
