An Evidence-Based Initiative to Reduce Alarm Fatigue in a Burn Intensive Care Unit.

BACKGROUND: Alarm fatigue occurs when nurses are exposed to multiple alarms of mixed significance and become desensitized to alarms to the point that a critical alarm may receive no response or a delayed response. In burn intensive care units, reducing the risk of alarm fatigue is uniquely challenging because of the critically ill patient population and the nature of burn skin injuries. Nurses and the interdisciplinary team can become fatigued and desensitized to alarms, decreasing response rates for necessary interventions. OBJECTIVE: To decrease the risk of alarm fatigue by using an initiative designed to reduce nonactionable and false alarms in a burn intensive care unit. METHODS: Baseline data (alarm count per patient-day by alarm type) were collected for 1 month before education and implementation of evidence-based interventions. Data were collected every 6 months for 2 years. INTERVENTIONS: A series of interventions included raising awareness of the risks associated with alarm fatigue, customizing alarm parameters and default settings, providing education on electrode placement and daily electrode changes, using physical reminders, and consistently sharing alarm data. The education, delivered in modules, aligned with the evidence-based interventions. RESULTS: Preintervention baseline data were compared to postintervention data at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. The results showed a significantly sustained reduction (P < .001) in total alarm rate over time. CONCLUSION: A quality improvement initiative based on evidence-based practice can contribute to a sustainable reduction in nonactionable and false alarms, ultimately improving patient safety.

Mind the Gap. A systematic review to identify usability and safety challenges and practices during electronic health record implementation.

OBJECTIVE: Decisions made during electronic health record (EHR) implementations profoundly affect usability and safety. This study aims to identify gaps between the current literature and key stakeholders' perceptions of usability and safety practices and the challenges encountered during the implementation of EHRs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two approaches were used: a literature review and interviews with key stakeholders. We performed a systematic review of the literature to identify usability and safety challenges and best practices during implementation. A total of 55 articles were reviewed through searches of PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus. We used a qualitative approach to identify key stakeholders' perceptions; semi-structured interviews were conducted with a diverse set of health IT stakeholders to understand their current practices and challenges related to usability during implementation. We used a grounded theory approach: data were coded, sorted, and emerging themes were identified. Conclusions from both sources of data were compared to identify areas of misalignment. RESULTS: We identified six emerging themes from the literature and stakeholder interviews: cost and resources, risk assessment, governance and consensus building, customization, clinical workflow and usability testing, and training. Across these themes, there were misalignments between the literature and stakeholder perspectives, indicating major gaps. DISCUSSION: Major gaps identified from each of six emerging themes are discussed as critical areas for future research, opportunities for new stakeholder initiatives, and opportunities to better disseminate resources to improve the implementation of EHRs. CONCLUSION: Our analysis identified practices and challenges across six different emerging themes, illustrated important gaps, and results suggest critical areas for future research and dissemination to improve EHR implementation.