MGH Patient Death Raises Concerns about Patient Monitoring Device Alarm Effectiveness
A male patient at Massachusetts General Hospital died last January after the crisis alarm on his heart monitor was accidentally switched off and left off. The patient was not discovered to be in crisis until a nurse came by during a routine check. The hospital has not said how long the man had been in crisis before the nurse came by.
The patient’s death highlights a growing problem for hospitals nationwide. Failure by staff to acknowledge and respond to alarms is one of the most frequent and serious problems facing hospitals today. The ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit organization that researches ways to improve patient care, recently released its list of “Top Ten Health Technology Hazards” for 2010. “Alarm Hazards” ranked in at No. 2, passing other high-ranking health risks such as “High Radiation Dose from Computed Tomography” and “Retained Devices and Un-retrieved Fragments Left in Patients.”
A Nationwide Problem
Across the nation, hospitals are taking extra time to examine the effectiveness of alarms on patient monitoring devices. Every year, deaths are reported because alarms either malfunction or are turned off, unheard, or ignored. Kathryn Pelczarski, director of ECRI’s applied solutions group, says that there were 237 alarm-related deaths between 2002 and 2004, and alarms made up 12 percent of the 2,200 medical device problems reported to ECRI between 2000 and 2006.
“Alarm Fatigue” a leading Cause of the Problem
As hospital technology has expanded both in terms of application and complexity, the number and types of alarms have also expanded. As a result, nurses and other caregivers often find themselves overwhelmed to the point that alarms lose their urgency. Pelczarski, calls this problem “alarm fatigue.” When alarm fatigue occurs, nurses begin ignoring and even turning off alarms. Additionally, since nurses are busy responding to a vast array of alarms, it can become difficult for them to hear and recognize each individual alarm.
New Remote Patient Monitoring Technology as a Solution
Today, new technologies and tools are emerging to help hospitals overcome this obstacle in providing quality patient care.
Dalcon Alert is one such tool that provides caregivers with an efficient way to acknowledge and respond to multiple alarms. Dalcon Alert is a Remote Patient Monitoring system that simultaneously connects with various patient monitoring devices such as heart monitors, IV pumps, ventilators, pulse oximeters, and more. When a patient monitoring device triggers an alarm connected to Dalcon Alert, the system sends a text message to wireless phones (or pagers) held by hospital staff.
The system is highly customizable. For example, less critical alarms can be sent only to the nurses who are responsible for the patient whose device generated the alarm. Highly critical alarms, such as heart monitor alarms, can be sent to the entire nursing staff to assure that such alarms do not go unnoticed.
Dalcon Alert also routes alarms to a PC display at the nursing station running the system’s Alert Management software, allowing nurses to manage all active alarms. Alarms cannot be removed from the Alert Management queue until dealt with at the point of care. As a result, accidental staff negligence is eliminated.
Dalcon Receives Internet Telephony’s 2009 Annual Product of the Year Award
NASHVILLE, Tenn. April 12, 2010 — Dalcon Communication Systems, Inc. announced today that its product, Dalcon Alert, had been named a Technology Marketing Corporation’s (TMC®) INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine 2009 product of the year. This is the third year running that a Dalcon product has accomplished this achievement.
Dalcon Alert is Dalcon’s Remote Patient Monitoring & Alert Management system for hospitals and long term care facilities. Dalcon Alert accomplishes 3 important tasks:
1. The system integrates with facility legacy patient monitoring devices, and transmits device alerts remotely to wireless phones or pagers via text message.
2. The alerts are also sent to a server, where they can be tracked in real time via Dalcon’s Alert Management web browser software. Alerts are shown as active in the Alert Management software until they are cancelled by responding staff. The Alert Management software can be accessed via the browsers of any computer on the facility network.
3. The alert management server maintains a database of all historic alerts. This allows for tracking and reporting of all alerts, including alert time and staff response time.
Dalcon Alert can also be used to effectively prevent never events due to patient falls and bed sores.
“We’re proud that Dalcon Alert has been recognized as an industry leading patient communications solution,” said David Condra, Dalcon CEO. “Dalcon continues to be committed to providing superior communications solutions in both the business and healthcare arenas.”
“INTERNET TELEPHONY is proud to grant Dalcon a 2009 Product of the Year Award for Dalcon Alert.” said Rich Tehrani, CEO, TMC. “We look forward to more innovative solutions from them in the future,” Tehrani said about Dalcon, whose various solutions have won INTERNET TELEPHONY product of the year three years in a row.
About Dalcon Communication Systems, Inc.
Founded in 1979, Dalcon Communication Systems, Inc. has developed software and IT solutions for businesses and hospitals nationwide. Dalcon, based in the healthcare capital of Nashville, Tennessee, bridges the latest in voice technology and data functionality into one flexible and integrated system. Its product offerings have won numerous industry awards.
About INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine
INTERNET TELEPHONY has been the IP Communications Authority since 1998™. INTERNET TELEPHONY offers rich content from solutions-focused editorial content to reviews on products and services from TMC Labs. The magazine reaches more than 225,000 readers, including pass-along readers.
Dalcon at HMS Expo 2010
The Dalcon Team will be exhibiting Dalcon’s latest patient care communications solution, Dalcon Alert, in booth 25 at the 2010 HMS Expo, April 13-16 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Dalcon Alert brings hospitals Remote Patient Monitoring and Alert Management by integrating with existing patient monitoring devices. The solution sends device alert messages to wireless phones, or pagers, carried by the nursing staff. Alerts are also sent to a central server so they can be actively managed by staff on a PC display at the nursing station. A reporting system is also built into the system on the server side.
“Dalcon has found from past experience that the HMS exposition is a great way to connect with healthcare industry leaders that are relevant to us,” David Condra, Dalcon CEO, said.
The HMS meeting and expo is held annually by Healthcare Management Systems, Inc. Representatives from the roughly 600 hospitals who use HMS’s solutions attend the event each year.
Dalcon at the 2010 AONE Annual Meeting and Exposition
Dalcon’s team will be exhibiting and demoing Dalcon Alert in booth 243 at this year’s AONE Annual Meeting and Exposition, April 9-13 2010, in Indianapolis Indiana.
Dalcon Alert is Dalcon’s award winning patient care communications solution. Dalcon Alert integrates with patient monitoring devices such as bed exit pads, IV pumps, and more, as well as the nurse call system. Dalcon Alert pushes the alerts created by these devices to multiple endpoints including wireless phones carried by staff and the nursing station console.
Dalcon’s success at the 2009 AONE expo prompted the company’s return visit. “We look forward to this year’s expo,” said John Menees, Director of Business Development at Dalcon, “To reconnect with relationships that we built last year, as well as create new relationships for the future.”
Attendees who visit the Dalcon booth (Booth 243) can register with Dalcon to win 2 free round trip tickets to any Southwest Airlines destination.
For more information about Dalcon at AONE 2010, or Dalcon Alert, call 877-WE-UNIFY (938-6439) or click here to send us a message.
