Alarm Fatigue: Causes and Effects

The term "Alarm fatigue" is commonly used to describe the effect which a high number of alarms can have on caregivers: Frequent alarms, many of which are avoidable, can lead to inadequate responses, severely impacting patient safety. In the first step of a long-term effort to address this problem, both the direct and indirect impact of alarms, as well as possible causes of unnecessary alarms were focused. Models of these causes and impacts were developed using a scoping review which included guided interviews with experts from medical informatics, clinicians and medical device manufacturers. These models can provide the methodical grounds for the definition of targeted interventions and the assessment of their effects.