Joint Commission Warns of Alarm Fatigue Multitude of Alarms From Monitoring Devices Problematic

Mitka M. — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Although devices to monitor various aspects of a patient in the hospital are intended to improve safety, sometimes they cause harm. The number of conditions and therapeutics to be monitored, “alarm fatigue” caused by the large number of alarms, and a lack of commitment by hospital staff all can lead to dire consequences.

Encouraging Patients to Ask Questions How to Overcome “White-Coat Silence” Encouraging Patients to Ask Questions

Judson TJ, Detsky AS, Press MJ. — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The focus of an ongoing effort in health care quality improvement is to encourage patients to ask questions during their care. In September 2011, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) launched the Questions Are the Answer campaign (Table) and has used $20 million of donated marketing outreach toward building patient engagement through asking questions (Farah Englert, AHRQ, November 15, 2012, written communication). In 2002, the Joint Commission created Speak Up, an initiative that promotes patient involvement in care and emphasizes the importance of asking questions (Table).

JAMA: Patient Safety/Medical Error Topic Collection

Joint Commission Warns of Alarm Fatigue Multitude of Alarms From Monitoring Devices Problematic

Encouraging Patients to Ask Questions How to Overcome “White-Coat Silence” Encouraging Patients to Ask Questions