JC weighs in on alarm systems
The Joint Commission's “R3 Report” for the new National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) that requires accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals to improve the safety of their clinical alarm systems offers information about the rationale and references that were employed in the development of the new alarm NPSG.
The alarm NPSG is being implemented in two phases. The first phase will go into effect on January 1, 2014, and heightens awareness of the potential risks associated with clinical alarms. The second phase will be effective January 1, 2016, and introduces requirements to mitigate those risks. The goal addresses clinical alarms that can compromise patient safety if they are not properly managed. This includes alarms from equipment such as cardiac monitors, IV machines, ventilators, etc. that have visual and/or auditory components. In general, this does not include items such as nurse call systems, alerts from computerized provider order entry or other IT systems.
The report explains why a new NPSG is needed, information about the development of the new NPSG, responses from the field and a bibliography of sources.
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.