For nurses, it’s a constant dash to respond to alarms
All morning long, nurses heard — and responded to — constant beeping, dinging, and chiming; some kind of alarm sounded at least every minute.
Wide heart monitor use tied to missed alarms
Matthew Cavanaugh for The Boston Globe
Recent studies show that a large percentage of patients who are on cardiac monitors do not need to be — an overuse of technology that contributes to alarm fatigue.
special report
Patient alarms often unheard, unheeded
The incessant din of beeping monitors can numb or distract hospital staff; the consequences can be deadly.
March 26, 2012
FDA working to trim hospital ‘alarm fatigue’
The FDA is intensifying its scrutiny of monitors and other medical devices in an effort to reduce the ‘‘alarm fatigue’’ that has been linked to hundreds of deaths nationally.
Oct. 31, 2011 | G Cover
Hospital noise hinders recovery
Studies suggest that patients need peace and quiet to heal, yet hospitals are some of the noisiest places around.
Dec. 11, 2011
Ventilator errors are linked to 119 deaths
Ventilator errors are linked to 119 deathsMore than a hundred patients have died since 2005 in incidents involving the machines’ alarms, warnings that are often ignored or missed by overtaxed caregivers.
Sept. 21, 2011
‘Alarm fatigue’ a factor in 2d hospital death
The second patient death in four years involving “alarm fatigue’’ at UMass Memorial has pushed the hospital to intensify efforts to prevent nurses from tuning out monitor warning alarms.