Utilizing Data and Alarm Champions to Enhance Alarm Management: A Pediatric Quality Improvement Initiative

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Technology
• Patient Safety
• Clinical Informatics

Background:

• Nuisance and false alarms from medical devices can distract clinicians, potentially compromising patient safety.
• Pediatric progressive care units experience high alarm rates, with 180-250 alarms per day, or one alarm every 3-4 minutes per clinician.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reduce the high number of daily alarms and the percentage of time spent in alarm states within a pediatric progressive care unit.
• To improve the clinical relevance and actionability of medical device alarms.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles to implement environmental, policy, and technology changes.
• Tailored alarm settings to individual patient needs using embedded patient monitoring system features.
• Monitored alarm data and implemented changes with the support of dedicated alarm champions.

Main Results:

• Achieved a 45.45% reduction in the average number of alarms per day per bed, decreasing from 177.69 to 96.94 over 10 years.
• Reduced the percentage of time in alarm by 62.37%, from 7.52% to 2.83%.
• Demonstrated a significant decrease in both alarm frequency and duration.

Conclusions:

• Implementing technology that analyzes real-time clinical data empowers clinicians to manage alarms effectively.
• Tailored alarm management strategies can decrease false alarms and improve patient safety without compromising care.
• Optimized alarm systems enhance clinical workflow and reduce alarm fatigue.