Alarm notification for physiologic monitoring: could you benefit from a new strategy?

A key aspect of physiologic monitoring is making sure that alarm information always reaches the appropriate staff members. In this article, we describe some of the fundamental scenarios for alarm notification-what we call alarm-notification models-that hospitals are using. In the models we discuss, nurses receive information in one of the following ways: Directly from the bedside and central station monitors, perhaps supplemented by interactive central station clients or slave displays From dedicated monitor technicians, called monitor watchers, who observe the care area's central station and relay alarm information to clinicians From dedicated monitor watchers stationed in a remote, centralized location, who receive alarm information and relay it to clinicians We also describe a number of technologies designed to enhance alarm notification, including the risks and controversies surrounding the use of these technologies. The framework provided in this article will help hospitals identify and analyze their alarm-notification options and ensure an effective fit with the rest of their current or planned alarm-management environment.