Date of Publication
2023
Project Team
Brandon Brown
Abstract
The Bundle Approach: A Quality Improvement Project Aimed to Reduce Clinically Insignificant Telemetry Alarms
Background and Objectives: Alarm fatigue in nurses is the top contributing factor in patient harm and death when looking at alarm related events. Too many alarm sounds lead to alarm fatigue, which can cause nursing staff to disable, ignore or miss alarm signals. A delayed or no response to alarm signals compromises patient safety. Reducing alarm sounds is crucial to increasing patient safety and improving appropriate alarm response by the nurse. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to reduce alarm burden and alarm fatigue in nurses on an inpatient cardiology, telemetry unit.
Methods: Methods included clinical audits, surveys, Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, educational interventions, and communication tools. Nurses were surveyed on alarm fatigue and knowledge regarding current practice and management of the telemetry system. The CEASE bundle, a nurse driven group of interventions aimed to reduce telemetry alarms and alarm fatigue in nurses, was implemented.
Results: Post-implementation of this QI project, there was a 10% decrease in clinical alarms, a 56% increase in alarm management knowledge reported by nurses, and a 24% decrease in nurses reporting severe alarm fatigue.
Discussion: Nurses heavily rely on the telemetry system to alert them to life threatening changes in their patient’s condition. Problems arise when nurses are bombarded with too many alarm sounds. This project demonstrates that educating nurses and implementing a bundle of interventions can reduce alarm burden and fatigue in nurses. The design of this QI project is generalizable and can be replicated in populations of patients who are on telemetry. More research is needed to explore the complexities of nursing culture, technology, and standardizing practice regarding the telemetry system.
Keywords: alarm fatigue, alarm burden, cardiology patients, telemetry, CEASE bundle
Document Type
Project
Recommended Citation
Dorsey, Hope A., "The Bundle Approach: A Quality Improvement Project Aimed to Reduce Clinically Insignificant Telemetry Alarms" (2023). College of Nursing and Health Sciences Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) Project Publications. 5.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/cnhscnl/5
