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Organizational Systems and Healthcare Transformation: Alarm
safety and Alarm fatigue in hospitals
WGU, Organizational Systems and Healthcare Transformation – D221
2
(S)Describe a healthcare-related situation (S) prompting a systems-level patient safety concern that can
potentially impact multiple patients.
As a med-surg nurse, I encounter many types of equipment every day. Most of these machines have
alarms that activate for different reasons. Sometimes, the alarms are continuous, causing staff to tune out
the noise. This noise can cause alarm fatigue, which is caused by the desensitization of sound. Some
alarms need action as they are indicators of a change in a patient's condition. If these alarms are not
utilized
appropriately, it can be detrimental to patient safety. Therefore, this SBAR will discuss alarm safety and alarm
fatigue.
(B) Analyze background information about the concern by doing the following:
Describe the data that supports or would support the need for change.
According to Albanowski et al. (2023), equipment alarms can be true or false and may or may not need
patient intervention. The alarms that are true reinforce the need to take immediate action. However, the
false alarms make the nurse more likely to delay action. Examples of equipment that alarm are beds, wound
pressure therapy devices, nurse call buttons, vital signs machines, sequential compression devices, IV fluid
, pumps, and patient-controlled pain pumps. Each of these devices can alarm for minor to major issues. For
example, a bed alarm may go off because a family member leaned over it, which is not as urgent as if a
semi- paralyzed patient was trying to get out of bed.
Explain how one or more national patient safety standards apply to this situation.
The Joint Commission has alarm safety as one of the top national patient safety goals (NPSG) for
2024. Misusing alarms compromises the health of patients, but the complex nature of this issue has made it
difficult to find a solution. In the hospital setting, it is common to have multiple alarms activated
Organizational Systems and Healthcare Transformation: Alarm
safety and Alarm fatigue in hospitals
WGU, Organizational Systems and Healthcare Transformation – D221
2
(S)Describe a healthcare-related situation (S) prompting a systems-level patient safety concern that can
potentially impact multiple patients.
As a med-surg nurse, I encounter many types of equipment every day. Most of these machines have
alarms that activate for different reasons. Sometimes, the alarms are continuous, causing staff to tune out
the noise. This noise can cause alarm fatigue, which is caused by the desensitization of sound. Some
alarms need action as they are indicators of a change in a patient's condition. If these alarms are not
utilized
appropriately, it can be detrimental to patient safety. Therefore, this SBAR will discuss alarm safety and alarm
fatigue.
(B) Analyze background information about the concern by doing the following:
Describe the data that supports or would support the need for change.
According to Albanowski et al. (2023), equipment alarms can be true or false and may or may not need
patient intervention. The alarms that are true reinforce the need to take immediate action. However, the
false alarms make the nurse more likely to delay action. Examples of equipment that alarm are beds, wound
pressure therapy devices, nurse call buttons, vital signs machines, sequential compression devices, IV fluid
, pumps, and patient-controlled pain pumps. Each of these devices can alarm for minor to major issues. For
example, a bed alarm may go off because a family member leaned over it, which is not as urgent as if a
semi- paralyzed patient was trying to get out of bed.
Explain how one or more national patient safety standards apply to this situation.
The Joint Commission has alarm safety as one of the top national patient safety goals (NPSG) for
2024. Misusing alarms compromises the health of patients, but the complex nature of this issue has made it
difficult to find a solution. In the hospital setting, it is common to have multiple alarms activated
