WALTHAM, MA -- EarlySense, the market leader in contact free monitoring solutions announced today its active involvement in the National Coalition for Alarm Management Safety, an effort launched by the AAMI Foundation's Healthcare Technology Safety Institute (HTSI).
A valid concern associated with medical technology is alarm burden on clinical staff. This refers to the multitude of monitors, ventilators, and infusion devices which create alarms and alerts designed to notify staff of potential patient concerns. Many of these alarms may present high false-positive rates, leading to both excessive work burden on staff and also potential desensitization in their response. This has been recognized by the Joint Commission, ECRI, FDA, and AAMI as safety concerns and a high priority to be addressed for healthcare organizations.
While alarm burden may be particularly concerning within Acute Care Environments, it is possibly more important to properly manage in General Medical-Surgical Units. Many medical devices which are used in the non-acute areas of the hospital environment to monitor and treat patients were originally designed for use in the ICU, Operating Rooms, or Post Anesthesia Care environment. These environments have clinician to patient ratios that are typically 1-2 patients to 1 caregiver, however in the non-acute care environments, this ratio may increase to 6, or even more in alternate care environments. This potentially places technology into an environment where an added burden of increased or false alarms due to equipment challenges, such as traditional lead problems, can be burdensome for the staff and cause further safety concerns for caregivers and the patients they serve.
The EarlySense System was specifically designed to assist caregivers in avoiding potentially adverse events, detecting patient deterioration sooner, or in alerting staff to patient movement, which may result in an unwanted bed exit, or in managing pressure ulcers. A study published recently at the American Journal of Medicine demonstrated that the alarm frequency with the EarlySense System in a typical 12-hour shift when caring for 5 patients can be as low as 2-3 alarms. In comparison, devices that have been designed and intended for acute care environments can reach hundreds of alarms on per shift basis.
"We are proud to take part in this effort to increase awareness on how to improve alarm management and hopefully drive improved patient safety by decreasing alarm fatigue." said Tim O'Malley, President of EarlySense Inc. "It is our commitment as a responsible member of the medical device community to provide a solution that properly fits the clinical environment it is intended for, minimizes errors, enhances patient safety and optimizes patient outcomes."
For more information, visit http://www.earlysense.com