From the ANA SmartBrief

Joint Commission makes alarm fatigue a top priority
The Joint Commission is making alarm fatigue in hospitals a priority issue this year because of increasing reports that nurses do not hear or might ignore or turn off monitors that indicate patients are having problems. The commission said it will meet with FDA officials, who already are working with industry groups on ways to address the problem. The Boston Globe (free registration) (4/18)


How much you want to bet that this will come to haunt nurses???


Not the fact that most of the alarms are inaccurate and unreliable. The monitor companies need much better designs and settings to recognize all of the static situation versus real life-threatening arrhythmias; this should include the fact that most pulse oximetry monitors are very skin sensitive and movement sensitive. THE Majority of this responsibility should be laid on the shoulders of companies like Seimens, HP, GE and such businesses that provide monitoring equipment.


Now nurses that actually turn off monitors ARE liable and just STUPID...Over time you get to know what sounds are artifact and less important versus the alarm sounds that indicate life-threatening rhythms. You can look at a monitor when it alarms and know when there is a difference just by the sound of the alarm. They need to stay on and be adjusted to get the best possible reading.


Alarms should never be turned off and nurses should always be trained in proper monitoring.


But the machines themselves need better sensitivity and recognition software.