Alarm Management

The Joint Commission, which accredits and certifies more than 20,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, has issued a National Patient Safety Goal on Alarm Management in hopes of improving the safety of clinical alarm systems. 

According to an article published on Market Watch, the goal will require hospital leaders to establish alarm safety and take specific actions to help avoid patient injuries and deaths related to the alarms. 

While clinical alarms are intended to alert patient caregivers if something is amiss, many alarms in hospitals and other health care facilities are not properly managed, which can compromise patient safety. According to the Joint Commission, the most common issue is alarm fatigue, which occurs when monitoring technologies produce false alarms. These false alarms can lead to delayed response in care and poor patient outcomes, such as injury or death. 

Phase I from the Joint Commission, which will begin in January 2014, will make hospitals identify the most important alarms to manage as well as establish alarms as an organization priority. 

Phase II will begin in 2016, where hospitals will be expected to develop and implement specific components of policies and procedures. Education about alarm system management will also be required.

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