Early action advisable to prepare for new alarm safety standards.

1 Early action advisable to prepare for new alarm safety standards Walk into any patient care unit—whether preoperative, intraoperative, or postoperative—and you will hear numerous alarm signals. Some are signaling a medical necessity, but many are false alarm noises that do not require action. Health care workers can hear several hundred alarm signals per patient per day, which may cause alarm fatigue. Overwhelmed or desensitized by the constant barrage, care givers may take unsafe actions, such as turning down the devices, shutting them off, or ignoring them. Patient safety advocates have warned of alarm fatigue for years, and it’s a growing concern as hospitals invest in more complex devices with a growing number of features and sensors. In June, the Joint Commission approved a new National Patient Safety Goal on clinical alarm safety (NPSG.06.01.01). The effective date is January 2014. The goal consists of 4 elements of performance to be phased in over 2 years—2 start in 2014 (Phase I), and 2 start in 2015 (Phase II). The Joint Commission says it plans to publish the Phase I and II requirements at the same time to provide the field with complete information about the ultimate requirements of NPSG.06.01.01. Phase II requirements may be enhanced before they are implemented in 2015. These changes could arise from hospitals’ experience with Phase I requirements as well as newly emerging evidence about best practices. If any changes to the Phase II requirements are made, accredited hospitals will be notified. The new goal will appear in the 2013 Update 2 to the Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for hospital and critical access hospital programs.