From the May 2016 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
For example, prior to implementing its platform, HSC depended on individual recollections from clinical responders after an alarm incident. Today, HSC has a clearer picture of every event. HSC can use the data provided by its platform to sort out the story behind any incident, increasing accuracy on occurrence reporting and resolution.
In addition, alarm data is used in reporting to HSC’s Performance Management Audit Committee, which monitors ventilator management performance and helps identify potential areas of improvement. HSC has also enjoyed greater automation in processes that used to be done manually, such as ventilator checks, which frees up respiratory therapists to focus more on the patient rather than the ventilator.
Addressing clinical alarm hazards in all their forms requires a holistic approach, free of the well-known departmental and data silos that hinder patient care and optimal clinical workflows. Technology certainly plays a critical role in alarm reduction and prioritization, but enterprise alarm management is a classic example of interdisciplinary leadership, involving clinical, IT, biomedical engineering and other departments. Alarm management is also much more than simply reducing non-actionable alarms. It’s a gateway for more seamless care and a way for hospitals to leverage hard data to make continuous improvements to their care and response processes.
About the author: Jeanne Venella is chief nursing officer at Bernoulli, and has spent her career transforming nursing care and improving processes. In combination with her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, Venella brings both day-to-day operational experience and classroom theory to Bernoulli clients. Her areas of expertise include adult and pediatric emergency nursing, organizational throughput, patient flow and efficiency, process improvement, change management, departmental designs, redesigns, and physical plant layouts.Back to HCB News
