Patient safety: Importance of alarms at ICU
Viviane Morbelli Wagana Botignon
GE Healthcare, Brazil
: J Health Inform Manag
Abstract
For many professionals in the healthcare team, alarms are commonly seen as expendable due to the high incidence of false positives or clinically nonactionable physiologic monitor conditions up to 99% of the time, that is, without clinical importance. Clinical alarms provide essential warnings to alert caregivers of changes in a patient´s condition. When alarms work well, the environment of care is enhanced. When alarms don´t work well, they put caregivers away from other duties and other patients or worse, train caregivers to ignore the alarm sounds altogether. Not only the nursing unit but the entire hospital employee staff must be utilized to provide a reasonably safe and secure environment for not only the patient, but the staff and visitors as well. Alarms that are ignored can and have resulted in patient deaths . The proposal of this lecture is: Considering the culture of the organization in determining the best method to improve alarm safety; Determine the optimal strategy for the organization, such as standardizing alarm equipment, tones, levels, and response protocols, so that even in an unfamiliar unit, staff members are familiar with the technology, the level of alarm, and the response necessary. Using big data which helps to define best practices for reducing unnecessary alarms, decreasing alarm fatigue and healthcare team stress.
Biography
Viviane Morbelli Wagana Botignon has completed Masters in Science from Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo in 2004, Specialization in ICU (1996) from Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP and Graduation in Physycal Therapy (1995), FMUSP. He has 10 years for ICU experience in Trauma, Burn, and Clinical, Bandeirantes University teacher, Brazil (2000-2007). Also worked as a Clinical Lider for Monitoring Solutions GE Latim America and working closely to customers with monitor configuration, alarms, clinical applications and patient safety. He is a Speaker at Congresses, workshops in LatAm.
E-mail: viviane.wagana@ge.com
