EarlySense, a provider of contact-free patient monitoring systems, announced in a press release on June 17 that it actively supports the National Coalition for Alarm Management Safety. The coalition was launched earlier this year by the AAMI Foundation’s Healthcare Technology Safety Institute (HTSI).
In the release, EarlySense president Tim O’Malley spoke of the need “to increase awareness on how to improve alarm management and hopefully drive improved patient safety by decreasing alarm fatigue.” O’Malley is a member of HTSI’s clinical alarms steering committee.
The EarlySense monitoring system has been designed to assist caregivers in avoiding potentially adverse events, to help them detect patient deterioration quickly, and to alert staff to patient movement that may result in an unwanted bed exit. According to the company, the system also increases alarm safety. It cited a study published in the American Journal of Medicine demonstrating that the alarm frequency with the EarlySense System in a typical 12-hour shift when caring for five patients can be as low as two or three alarms. In comparison, devices that have been designed and intended for acute care environments can set off hundreds of alarms per shift.
