Dissertation
Reduce alarms in a telemetry room using Plan Do Study Act methodology
Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.), Drexel University
2018
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/D8B09X
Abstract
Patient safety literature supports that alarm management deficiencies are mostly caused by human errors that relate to system complexities. The circumstances of alarm management systems are usually institutionally unique and are influenced by organizational culture, equipment and styles of alarm management. Variability across care systems and within department units contributes to troubling problems that cannot be solved with a single, broad approach. Modifying telemetry rooms can be an effective strategy to combat alarm management challenges; however, the design and set up of these rooms can expose telemetry technicians, also known as monitor watchers, to a barrage of alarms that may be overwhelming and lead to patient safety events. The proposed doctor of nursing practice site's telemetry room does not have protocols for reducing alarm events based on patients' clinical conditions. This proposed quality improvement project will utilize the Plan, Do Study Act cycle to reduce the number of nonactionable alarms to which a monitor technician is exposed in a telemetry monitoring room in order to focus on actionable alarms. The appraised evidence supports that eliminating premature ventricular contractions (PVC) alarms from telemetry monitoring reduces nonactionable alarms. Employing this change may reduce alarm fatigue attributed to telemetry technicians' over exposure to alarm noise. Continual monitoring of overall alarm numbers on a month-by-month basis will continue to ensure an increase in exposure to actionable alarms.
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Details
- Title
- Reduce alarms in a telemetry room using Plan Do Study Act methodology
- Creators
- Mark Meyers - DU
- Contributors
- Jaime C. Slaughter-Acey (Advisor) - Drexel University (1970-)Patti Rager Zuzelo (Advisor) - Drexel University (1970-)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- 60 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Doctoral Nursing; Nursing (Graduate); College of Nursing and Health Professions; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 8058; 991014632169604721