Alarms on monitors in hospitals are top hazard

By Liz Kowalczyk, Globe Staff

Alarms on cardiac monitors, infusion pumps and ventilators, which are meant to protect patients, have been named the most hazardous technology in hospitals by an organization that tracks problems with medical devices.

ECRI Institute, a nonprofit independent research organization in Pennsylvania, just published its list of top ten health technology hazards for 2012. Alarms have been on the list for several years, but moved back into the no. 1 slot, in part because of the Globe’s series on alarm fatigue -- a phenomenon that occurs when nurses become so desensitized to the constant beeping that they don’t hear or ignore important warnings that a patient’s condition might be worsening. You can find two of those stories here and here.

When drawing up its list, ECRI said it considers whether a technology can seriously harm patients, if the hazard is widespread, and if it’s been reported in the media, putting hospitals “under pressure to deal with it quickly and conspicuously.’’

ECRI recommends that hospitals conduct an in-depth assessment of their organization’s approach to alarms and make numerous improvements, including establishing alarm notification and response protocols that ensure that each alarm will be recognized, that the appropriate caregiver will be alerted, and that the alarm will be promptly addressed.

ECRI has posted more information on managing alarms and its entire 2012 Top 10 Health Technology Hazards report.

Liz Kowalczyk can be reached at kowalczyk@globe.com.