At the Society for Technology in Anesthesia (STA) Annual Meeting held earlier this month in Orlando, Michael Wong, executive director of the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS), introduced a “Technological Alarm Awareness Wish List.” According to the group, the goal of the list is to help reduce alarm fatigue and improve alarm management among the nation’s hospitals.
Prepared with the help of Maria Cvach, assistant director of nursing, clinical standards, for The Johns Hopkins Hospital, the wish list calls for standards including multiparameter rather than single-parameter alarms, standardization of alarm sounds, delays to eliminate nuisance alarms, and escalation of alarm levels based on quantity or change in alarm pattern. In addition, the list calls for smarter IV pumps, increased device interoperability, alarm integration, and multifunction wireless devices.
For more information, visit the PPAHS website.
