Alarm problems: Last falls summit is this seasons report
Last October, a group of organizations convened a summit on problems caused by medical device alarms. In December 2011, one of the groups—the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI)—published a report based on the proceedings.
The 44-page publication discussed priorities and challenges identified at the summit, where AAMI jointly convened with the FDA, ECRI Institute, the Joint Commission and the American College of Clinical Engineering. Several hundred individuals participated in the summit including clinicians, manufacturers, human factors experts, regulators and others, according to the AAMI. They set as a goal working together to end all adverse alarm events by 2017.
The report’s executive summary noted several key themes that recurred throughout the summit, including:
The issue of problems with device alarms “has received new scrutiny from national news outlets over the past couple of years, with reports on how some patients have died after their clinical alarms went ignored,” AAMI pointed out, adding that its Healthcare Technology Safety Institute will work this year to address the priorities and themes laid out in the summit report.
For the full report, click here.
The 44-page publication discussed priorities and challenges identified at the summit, where AAMI jointly convened with the FDA, ECRI Institute, the Joint Commission and the American College of Clinical Engineering. Several hundred individuals participated in the summit including clinicians, manufacturers, human factors experts, regulators and others, according to the AAMI. They set as a goal working together to end all adverse alarm events by 2017.
The report’s executive summary noted several key themes that recurred throughout the summit, including:
- A “patient safety first” lens is essential to create a sense of urgency, sustain momentum and focus on results that matter.
- Technology is driving healthcare processes. This needs to be reversed so that people “own” the technology and human processes drive technology use.
- Problem solving by interdisciplinary teams, and clinical leadership and support, are essential for success.
- Clinicians need to be involved in every step of the process to make progress on the priority actions.
- All stakeholders have an opportunity to contribute to research, share exemplary practices and develop innovative alarm systems that serve as “trusted sentinels” to clinicians—and that improve the environment of care and patient outcomes.
The issue of problems with device alarms “has received new scrutiny from national news outlets over the past couple of years, with reports on how some patients have died after their clinical alarms went ignored,” AAMI pointed out, adding that its Healthcare Technology Safety Institute will work this year to address the priorities and themes laid out in the summit report.
For the full report, click here.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.