The fi ve levels of alarm management in today's era of the Internet of Hospital Things

Without the right technology in place to coordinate and prioritize all the various forms of communication that clinicians receive from systems as disparate as physiologic monitors, beds, IV pumps, and ventilators, hospitals risk fatiguing their physicians and nurses with constant interruptions to patient care. Alarm signals compete with all other message sources for a clinician's attention, and with each alarm notification, there is inevitable distraction. Since each clinician has a limited attention bandwidth, messages (whether text or voice) must be considered in aggregate: The Joint Commission, a not-for-profit hospital accreditation and certification organization, has established a National Patient Safety Goal focused on improving alarm management.