By Maria Cvach, DNP, RN, CCRN, and Michael Wong, JD

(This article first published in 24×7 Magazine on March 2, 2014. John Bethune, their editor-in-chief, also did an editorial (see page 8 in their February edition) on the nine technological solutions: http://24×7.alliedmedia360.com)

Patient monitors represent the good and the bad consequences of modern medical technology. The good results come when medical device alarms alert caregivers to clinical deterioration of their patients, allowing them to intervene. The bad ones happen when alarms sound too often, or for a nonactionable issue, and caregivers become desensitized or immune to the audible alarm sounds altogether.

In its “Sentinel Event Alert” number 50, headlined “Medical Device Alarm Safety in Hospitals,” The Joint Commission explained this dichotomy as follows: Continue reading “Nine Technological Solutions to Manage Alarm Fatigue” →