Frequency of False Alarms is Top Concern About Clinical Alarm Systems

Jaimie Oh -

Recent survey results suggest the high frequency of false alarms is the most important issue regarding clinical alarms, according to an Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation release.

The survey yielded responses from 4,278 professionals, including respiratory therapists, nurses, biomedical equipment technicians and clinical engineers.

 

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In the survey, 33.3 percent of respondents identified "frequent false alarms" as the most important issue, followed by "inadequate staff to respond to alarms as they occur" (14.5 percent) and "difficulty in hearing alarms when they occur" (7 percent).

The results also found that almost one in five institutions had experienced adverse patient events over the past two years with a large percentage unsure if events had occurred. A little more than 20 percent of respondents reported their institution had developed clinical alarm improvement initiatives over the past two years.

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