Clinical Alarms In Health Care

Clinical alarms are designated to alert the caregivers of potential adverse patient conditions. There have been many shortcomings that have been discussed across the country by performing numerous studies and analyses. According to (Cvach, Dang, Foster, & Irechukwu, n.d.), “ In 2002, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations reviewed 23 reports of death or injury that were related to mechanical ventilation. Nineteen of those events resulted in death, and 4 resulted in coma; 65% were related to alarms.” Also, alarm hazards were identified as the number one risk on the 2008 list of top 10 by the ECRI Institute. In fact, clinical alarms in the ICU can be generated due to false reading which may impact the patient’s safety, it may confuses the caregivers in providing the appropriate care …show more content…
Acoustics were altered during the study period by changing the ceiling tiles throughout the ICU from sound-reflecting (poor acoustics) to sound-absorbing tiles (good acoustics) of similar appearance.” When the patients did a questionnaire about the quality of care, they said that the staff attitude was better and more effective in the good acoustics period. In general, the high sound levels that are caused by the clinical alarms can affect the health of the medical personnel. Actually, there is a relations ship between the burn-out syndromes in ICU nurses and the increased sound levels in ICU where the nurses get more frustrated when dealing with different medical conditions. Overall, the presence of a high numbers of alarms can cause a potential risk to the safety of patients and staff, and it can reduce the quality of care that is provided in the ICU. Improving the clinical alarm safety system in the ICU is required by the Joint Commission for every healthcare facility in order to ensure patient and staff