A nurse from the San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC) recently shared her research on reducing alarm fatigue during a joint military course in San Antonio, Texas.
Army Capt. Amanda Rodriguez provided details on her patient safety project, which sought to reduce false physiological alarms and improve patient safety.
“Many studies have demonstrated as many as 99 percent of alarm signals may be false and can result in patient harm or death when a clinically actionable alarm is missed due to alarm fatigue,” Rodriguez told participants at the TriService Nursing Research Program’s Research and Evidence-based Practice Dissemination course.
Nurses in Rodriguez’s project implemented the American Association of Critical-care Nurses Practice Alert for Alarm Management at SAMMC, which involves reviewing alarm setting and patient-specific tailoring of the physiological alarms during every shift. After a six-week trial, alarms were reduced by more than 900 fewer per day. The results were well received at SAMMC and show the value of implementing and sharing evidence-based research, Rodriguez said.
Showing posts with label alarm fatigue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alarm fatigue. Show all posts
Friday, September 25, 2015
Friday, August 21, 2015
Sound Panels Used to Reduce Noise in Michigan Hospital
The University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor is experimenting with acoustic panels to diffuse sound in patient hallways and address concerns that hospital noise from monitors and paging systems interrupts patients' sleep and affects their blood pressure and heart rates, FierceHealthcare reports.
The University recently published findings from its pilot study in BMJ Quality and Safety, which indicated that the sound-absorbing panels, which are similar to ones used in music rooms, reduced noise in patient areas by three to four sound decibels.
The hospital is also promoting a “culture of quiet” in patient areas by providing complimentary headphones to patients and families; setting quiet hours in all inpatient areas; setting pagers to vibrate when medically appropriate; coordinating care in order to reduce unnecessary entry into patient rooms during quiet hours; and reminding staff to use quiet voices and behaviors in the patient care setting and to close doors quietly.
An INQRI-funded study found a unique way to use different sounds to reduce alarm fatigue and help keep patients safe. Led by Tracey Yap and Jay Kim the team used music to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers. The study used music to cue patients in long-term care facilities to move in order to avoid getting pressure ulcers. The music also cued staff to help to move those patients who could not move on their own.
The University’s study abstract is available here.
The University recently published findings from its pilot study in BMJ Quality and Safety, which indicated that the sound-absorbing panels, which are similar to ones used in music rooms, reduced noise in patient areas by three to four sound decibels.
The hospital is also promoting a “culture of quiet” in patient areas by providing complimentary headphones to patients and families; setting quiet hours in all inpatient areas; setting pagers to vibrate when medically appropriate; coordinating care in order to reduce unnecessary entry into patient rooms during quiet hours; and reminding staff to use quiet voices and behaviors in the patient care setting and to close doors quietly.
An INQRI-funded study found a unique way to use different sounds to reduce alarm fatigue and help keep patients safe. Led by Tracey Yap and Jay Kim the team used music to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers. The study used music to cue patients in long-term care facilities to move in order to avoid getting pressure ulcers. The music also cued staff to help to move those patients who could not move on their own.
The University’s study abstract is available here.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Nurse-led Study Provides First Ever Real-World Data on Hospital Alarm Noise
More than 2.5 million alarms were triggered on bedside monitors in a single month, according to the first study on hospital alarms conducted in a real-world setting. An article about the study in Medical Express notes that excessive alarm noise can lead to alarm fatigue among nurses and other clinicians and negative outcomes for patients.
The study was conducted by Jessica Zègre-Hemsey, assistant professor at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill School of Nursing and a cardiac monitoring expert, and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Nursing Professor Barbara Drew, along with her UCSF colleagues. The study also found that 88.8 percent of the alarms for abnormal cardiac conditions were false.
"Current technologies have been instrumental in saving lives but they can be improved," Zègre-Hemsey tells Medical Xpress. "For example, current monitoring systems do not take into account differences among patients. If alarm settings were tailored more specifically to individuals that could go a long way in reducing the number of alarms health care providers respond to."
Zègre-Hemsey and her colleagues recommend that clinicians, engineers, and administrators collaborate to develop monitors that can be configured to individual patients and create a "gold standard" database of annotated alarms to reduce false alarms.
"Alarm fatigue is a large and complex problem," she said. "Yet the implications are far-reaching since sentinel events like patient death have been reported. This is a current patient safety crisis."
The full study is available on PLOS ONE.
In a related story, the Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio) looks at what local hospitals are doing to reduce alarm fatigue. For example, the Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center recently moved to a system in which some patient alarms go directly to a nurse’s phone, thereby decreasing alarm noise by approximately 20 percent.
An INQRI-funded study found a unique way to use different sounds to reduce alarm fatigue and help keep patients safe. Led by Tracey Yap and Jay Kim the team used music to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers. The study used music to cue patients in long-term care facilities to move in order to avoid getting pressure ulcers. The music also cued staff to help to move those patients who could not move on their own.
The study was conducted by Jessica Zègre-Hemsey, assistant professor at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill School of Nursing and a cardiac monitoring expert, and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Nursing Professor Barbara Drew, along with her UCSF colleagues. The study also found that 88.8 percent of the alarms for abnormal cardiac conditions were false.
"Current technologies have been instrumental in saving lives but they can be improved," Zègre-Hemsey tells Medical Xpress. "For example, current monitoring systems do not take into account differences among patients. If alarm settings were tailored more specifically to individuals that could go a long way in reducing the number of alarms health care providers respond to."
Zègre-Hemsey and her colleagues recommend that clinicians, engineers, and administrators collaborate to develop monitors that can be configured to individual patients and create a "gold standard" database of annotated alarms to reduce false alarms.
"Alarm fatigue is a large and complex problem," she said. "Yet the implications are far-reaching since sentinel events like patient death have been reported. This is a current patient safety crisis."
The full study is available on PLOS ONE.
In a related story, the Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio) looks at what local hospitals are doing to reduce alarm fatigue. For example, the Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center recently moved to a system in which some patient alarms go directly to a nurse’s phone, thereby decreasing alarm noise by approximately 20 percent.
An INQRI-funded study found a unique way to use different sounds to reduce alarm fatigue and help keep patients safe. Led by Tracey Yap and Jay Kim the team used music to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers. The study used music to cue patients in long-term care facilities to move in order to avoid getting pressure ulcers. The music also cued staff to help to move those patients who could not move on their own.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Webinar to Help Nurses Manage Alarm Fatigue
Advance Healthcare Network for Nurses is hosting a webinar on the issue of nurses facing alarm fatigue. The webinar is scheduled for Thursday, October 16, 2014 from 3:00pm-4:00pm ET. The webinar will provide information about:
An INQRI-funded study found a unique way to use different sounds to reduce alarm fatigue and help keep patients safe. Led by Tracey Yap and Jay Kim the team used music to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers. The study used music to cue patients in long-term care facilities to move in order to avoid getting pressure ulcers. The music also cued staff to help to move those patients who could not move on their own.
- Current literature on alarm fatigue.
- Systems and human issues that contribute to alarm fatigue.
- A system wide approach that can be developed to address alarm fatigue.
An INQRI-funded study found a unique way to use different sounds to reduce alarm fatigue and help keep patients safe. Led by Tracey Yap and Jay Kim the team used music to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers. The study used music to cue patients in long-term care facilities to move in order to avoid getting pressure ulcers. The music also cued staff to help to move those patients who could not move on their own.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Sound Bending Invention Could Reduce Stressful Hospital Noise
Excessive hospital noise is stressful for both patients and nurses and can lead to medical errors due to alarm fatigue. To address these issues, Eve Edelstein, an associate professor at the University of Arizona, is collaborating with University of California San Diego Music and Sonic Arts Professor Peter Otto on unique noise reduction strategies, KPBS Radio reports.
Edelstein, a neuroscientist and architect, measured sound levels in emergency departments during shift changes and found levels as high as 100-110 decibels, equivalent to the noise levels of a jet engine. To explore new ways of reducing the noise, Edelstein partnered with Otto, who developed a “sound bender,” a small machine that directs sound in a specific direction without allowing it to spill over to other locations.
In a hospital setting, the sound bender could be used to channel the sound and restrict it specifically to the people who need to hear it, Otto told KPBS. For example, announcements or alarms could specifically be directed to nurses’ stations without disturbing patients or other staff.
Otto is also exploring the effects of different building materials, room sizes, and room shapes on acoustics in hospitals, according to the article.
Edelstein, a neuroscientist and architect, measured sound levels in emergency departments during shift changes and found levels as high as 100-110 decibels, equivalent to the noise levels of a jet engine. To explore new ways of reducing the noise, Edelstein partnered with Otto, who developed a “sound bender,” a small machine that directs sound in a specific direction without allowing it to spill over to other locations.
In a hospital setting, the sound bender could be used to channel the sound and restrict it specifically to the people who need to hear it, Otto told KPBS. For example, announcements or alarms could specifically be directed to nurses’ stations without disturbing patients or other staff.
Otto is also exploring the effects of different building materials, room sizes, and room shapes on acoustics in hospitals, according to the article.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Changes to Alarms Helps Reduce Noise Fatigue, Protect Patients
A new study aims to address reports of alarm fatigue, which have plagued nursing staff and contributed to negative health outcomes for patients, by determining variables that would safely reduce noncritical alarms on a general medical-surgical unit.
For the study, published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, Boston Medical Center reduced its weekly audible cardiac alarm rate by 89 percent, which increased the satisfaction rates of nurses and other staff, and their patients. Deborah A. Whalen led the study, which involved changing alarms for bradycardia, tachycardia, and heart rate limits to "crisis," FierceHealthcare reports.
Nursing staff who participated in the study had to view and act on the alarm each time it sounded, and self-resetting alarms were eliminated. The research team found that by eliminating alarms with self-reset capabilities, hospitals can significantly reduce the volume of calls without compromising patient safety.
The Joint Commission praised the Boston Medical Center study in a news release. The Commission previously issued a Sentinel Event Alert about alarm-related deaths and identified alarm safety as a 2014 National Patient Safety Goal. The Commission's two-phase National Patient Safety Goal aims to combat alarm fatigue, FierceHealthcare previously reported. The first phase, which began January 1, 2014 heightens awareness of the potential risks associated with clinical alarms and the second phase, which will begin January 1, 2016, will introduce requirements to mitigate those risks.
An INQRI-funded study found a unique way to use different sounds to reduce alarm fatigue and help keep patients safe. Led by Tracey Yap and Jay Kim the team used music to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers. The study used music to cue patients in long-term care facilities to move in order to avoid getting pressure ulcers. The music also cued staff to help to move those patients who could not move on their own. Dr. Yap blogged about the study and some unexpected results on the RWJF Human Capital blog.
For the study, published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, Boston Medical Center reduced its weekly audible cardiac alarm rate by 89 percent, which increased the satisfaction rates of nurses and other staff, and their patients. Deborah A. Whalen led the study, which involved changing alarms for bradycardia, tachycardia, and heart rate limits to "crisis," FierceHealthcare reports.
Nursing staff who participated in the study had to view and act on the alarm each time it sounded, and self-resetting alarms were eliminated. The research team found that by eliminating alarms with self-reset capabilities, hospitals can significantly reduce the volume of calls without compromising patient safety.
The Joint Commission praised the Boston Medical Center study in a news release. The Commission previously issued a Sentinel Event Alert about alarm-related deaths and identified alarm safety as a 2014 National Patient Safety Goal. The Commission's two-phase National Patient Safety Goal aims to combat alarm fatigue, FierceHealthcare previously reported. The first phase, which began January 1, 2014 heightens awareness of the potential risks associated with clinical alarms and the second phase, which will begin January 1, 2016, will introduce requirements to mitigate those risks.
An INQRI-funded study found a unique way to use different sounds to reduce alarm fatigue and help keep patients safe. Led by Tracey Yap and Jay Kim the team used music to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers. The study used music to cue patients in long-term care facilities to move in order to avoid getting pressure ulcers. The music also cued staff to help to move those patients who could not move on their own. Dr. Yap blogged about the study and some unexpected results on the RWJF Human Capital blog.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Do Alarms Really Help Keep Patients Safe?
A recent article in the Washington Post by Lena H. Sun discusses the fact that with so much alarm-caused noise in a hospital (ventilators going off, infusion pumps beeping, blood pressure monitors emitting tone after tone), it's difficult to know when an alarm is indicating a serious problem or is just over-sensitive. As a result, Sun writes that health care workers suffer "alarm fatigue" that leads them to turning down the volume on devices, turning them off, or just ignoring them. These actions could definitely put patients at risk when an alarm does indicate an emergency.
An INQRI-funded study found one way to use different sounds to help keep patients safe. Led by Tracey Yap and Jay Kim, the team used music to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers. The study used music to cue patients in long-term care facilities to move in order to avoid getting pressure ulcers. The music also cued staff to help to move those patients who couldn't move on their own. Dr. Yap blogged about the study and some unexpected results on the RWJF Human Capital blog for National Nurses Week.
But, what about those traditional alarms? Do they keep patients safe or do we need to find another way?
An INQRI-funded study found one way to use different sounds to help keep patients safe. Led by Tracey Yap and Jay Kim, the team used music to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers. The study used music to cue patients in long-term care facilities to move in order to avoid getting pressure ulcers. The music also cued staff to help to move those patients who couldn't move on their own. Dr. Yap blogged about the study and some unexpected results on the RWJF Human Capital blog for National Nurses Week.
But, what about those traditional alarms? Do they keep patients safe or do we need to find another way?
Thursday, June 6, 2013
AACN Webinar on Managing Alarm Fatigue
On Thursday, June 20 at 10am, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) will present a free webinar: "Managing Alarm Fatigue: New Approaches and Best Practices."
The patient safety organization, ECRI Institute, has identified alarm hazards as its Top Health Technology Hazard for 2013 and The Joint Commission issued an April 2013 Sentinel Event Alert on alarm fatigue. AACN’s free, live webinar will discuss the scope of this growing problem, management of environmental alarms for improved patient safety and strategies for creating a more effective (and quieter) workplace.
Panel presenters:
• Marjorie Funk, RN, MSN, PhD, FAAN, FAHA
• Maria Cvach, RN, MSN, CCRN
• Sue Sendelbach, RN, PhD, CCNS, FAHA
Register here.
The patient safety organization, ECRI Institute, has identified alarm hazards as its Top Health Technology Hazard for 2013 and The Joint Commission issued an April 2013 Sentinel Event Alert on alarm fatigue. AACN’s free, live webinar will discuss the scope of this growing problem, management of environmental alarms for improved patient safety and strategies for creating a more effective (and quieter) workplace.
Panel presenters:
• Marjorie Funk, RN, MSN, PhD, FAAN, FAHA
• Maria Cvach, RN, MSN, CCRN
• Sue Sendelbach, RN, PhD, CCNS, FAHA
Register here.
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