With the Labor Day weekend, there were fewer articles posted, likely because people were enjoying the remaining days of summer.
However, here are some interesting reads:
Understanding healthcare’s top technology hazard
Alarm fatigue stories continue to churn up a lot of Twitter discussion. Here’s one that summarizes some of the key issues, first posted on Forbes (mentioned briefly in last week’s update) and republished by Dell this week:
“Even with some of the world’s top device manufacturers (General Electric, Phillips, Stanley, Medline, etc.) working to develop “smart alarm” systems, the dangers are still very real. On the Emergency Care Research Institute (ECRI) Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2013, alarm hazards ranked number one. The issue of alarm fatigue has many facets.”
For the article, please click here.
Taking on a Task vs Understanding the Big Picture
ECRI published a blog post by Rikin Shah asking whether hospitals might be missing the big picture.
“I feel it’s important for hospitals to understand that it’s not the inventory of the medical devices themselves, but rather the inventory of the alarms from those devices. While the biggest culprits to be tackled first are the physiologic monitors, ventilators, and even IV pumps, it may also be beneficial to talk your staff and ask for their input on what devices they believe create alarm fatigue issues.”
Hat tip to ECRI (@ECRI_Institute) for tweeting the blog post and Jayme Lynn McKelvey (@JaymeMDPub) for retweeting so that it landed on our radar.
Read the article here.
Health Workers ‘Numb’ to 1000s
Tammy Worth, Contributing Editor at Healthcare Dive, offers a brief perspective on the issue of alarm fatigue, great as an introduction to the topic (especially for our non-medical supporters).
Hat tip to Nicole de Beaufort (@NicoledeB) for tweeting the brief so that we saw it.
Race Matters as a Factor in Pain Management, but Why?
According to a study conducted at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, “patient race, provider bias and clinical ambiguity interact to influence providers’ assessment and treatment decisions. The researchers suggested that understanding these factors and their influence might be an important step toward improving patient care.”
First recommendations on all new oral anticoagulants in pulmonary embolism published
The first recommendations on the use of all new oral anticoagulants in pulmonary embolism are published today in new ESC Guidelines.