AEDs in your facility. A risk management perspective

Recently, many hospitals have begun installing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to help reduce cardiac arrest response times. The devices are being placed in areas where manual defibrillators generally cannot be deployed quickly enough to be effective. This Guidance Article is intended to help facilities that are trying to start an AED program. We discuss important factors to consider, and we outline a specific implementation model that can be followed. In addition, the article covers liability issues that may arise, regardless of whether your facility has an AED program in place. For model-specific information, refer to the Evaluation on AEDs earlier in this issue.