scholarly journals Improving the Safety, Effectiveness, and Efficiency of Clinical Alarm Systems: Simulation-Based Usability Testing of Physiologic Monitors

JMIR Nursing ◽  
10.2196/20584 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. e20584
Author(s):  
Azizeh K Sowan ◽  
Nancy Staggers ◽  
Andrea Berndt ◽  
Tommye Austin ◽  
Charles C Reed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Intensive Care Units ◽  
Completion Time ◽  
Usability Testing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Task Completion ◽  
Thought Processes ◽  
Alarm Management ◽  
Effectiveness And Efficiency

Background Clinical alarm system safety is a national patient safety goal in the United States. Physiologic monitors are associated with the highest number of device alarms and alarm-related deaths. However, research involving nurses’ use of physiologic monitors is rare. Hence, the identification of critical usability issues for monitors, especially those related to patient safety, is a nursing imperative. Objective This study examined nurses’ usability of physiologic monitors in intensive care units with respect to the effectiveness and efficiency of monitor use. Methods In total, 30 nurses from 4 adult intensive care units completed 40 tasks in a simulation environment. The tasks were common monitoring tasks that were crucial for appropriate monitoring and safe alarm management across four categories of competencies: admitting, transferring, and discharging patients using the monitors (7 tasks); managing measurements and monitor settings (23 tasks); performing electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis (7 tasks); and troubleshooting alarm conditions (3 tasks). The nurse-monitor interaction was video-recorded. The principal investigator and two expert intensive care units nurse educators identified, classified, and validated task success (effectiveness) and the time of task completion (efficiency). Results Among the 40 tasks, only 2 (5%) were successfully completed by all the nurses. At least 1-27 (3%-90%) nurses abandoned or did not correctly perform 38 tasks. The task with the shortest completion time was “take monitor out of standby” (mean 0:02, SD 0:01 min:s), whereas the task “record a 25 mm/s ECG strip of any of the ECG leads” had the longest completion time (mean 1:14, SD 0:32 min:s). The total time to complete 37 navigation-related tasks ranged from a minimum of 3 min 57 s to a maximum of 32 min 42 s. Regression analysis showed that it took 6 s per click or step to successfully complete a task. To understand the nurses’ thought processes during monitor navigation, the authors analyzed the paths of the 2 tasks with the lowest successful completion rates, where only 13% (4/30) of the nurses correctly completed these 2 tasks. Although 30% (9/30) of the nurses accessed the correct screen first for task 1 and task 2, they could not find their way easily from there to successfully complete the 2 tasks. Conclusions Usability testing of physiologic monitors revealed major ineffectiveness and inefficiencies in the current nurse-monitor interactions. The results indicate the potential for safety and productivity issues in completing routine tasks. Training on monitor use should include critical monitoring functions that are necessary for safe, effective, efficient, and appropriate monitoring to include knowledge of the shortest navigation path. It is imperative that vendors’ future monitor designs mimic clinicians’ thought processes for successful, safe, and efficient monitor navigation.

scholarly journals Improving the Safety, Effectiveness, and Efficiency of Clinical Alarm Systems: Simulation-Based Usability Testing of Physiologic Monitors (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azizeh K Sowan ◽  
Nancy Staggers ◽  
Andrea Berndt ◽  
Tommye Austin ◽  
Charles C Reed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Intensive Care Units ◽  
Completion Time ◽  
Usability Testing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Task Completion ◽  
Thought Processes ◽  
Alarm Management ◽  
Effectiveness And Efficiency

BACKGROUND Clinical alarm system safety is a national patient safety goal in the United States. Physiologic monitors are associated with the highest number of device alarms and alarm-related deaths. However, research involving nurses’ use of physiologic monitors is rare. Hence, the identification of critical usability issues for monitors, especially those related to patient safety, is a nursing imperative. OBJECTIVE This study examined nurses’ usability of physiologic monitors in intensive care units with respect to the effectiveness and efficiency of monitor use. METHODS In total, 30 nurses from 4 adult intensive care units completed 40 tasks in a simulation environment. The tasks were common monitoring tasks that were crucial for appropriate monitoring and safe alarm management across four categories of competencies: admitting, transferring, and discharging patients using the monitors (7 tasks); managing measurements and monitor settings (23 tasks); performing electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis (7 tasks); and troubleshooting alarm conditions (3 tasks). The nurse-monitor interaction was video-recorded. The principal investigator and two expert intensive care units nurse educators identified, classified, and validated task success (effectiveness) and the time of task completion (efficiency). RESULTS Among the 40 tasks, only 2 (5%) were successfully completed by all the nurses. At least 1-27 (3%-90%) nurses abandoned or did not correctly perform 38 tasks. The task with the shortest completion time was “take monitor out of standby” (mean 0:02, SD 0:01 min:s), whereas the task “record a 25 mm/s ECG strip of any of the ECG leads” had the longest completion time (mean 1:14, SD 0:32 min:s). The total time to complete 37 navigation-related tasks ranged from a minimum of 3 min 57 s to a maximum of 32 min 42 s. Regression analysis showed that it took 6 s per click or step to successfully complete a task. To understand the nurses’ thought processes during monitor navigation, the authors analyzed the paths of the 2 tasks with the lowest successful completion rates, where only 13% (4/30) of the nurses correctly completed these 2 tasks. Although 30% (9/30) of the nurses accessed the correct screen first for task 1 and task 2, they could not find their way easily from there to successfully complete the 2 tasks. CONCLUSIONS Usability testing of physiologic monitors revealed major ineffectiveness and inefficiencies in the current nurse-monitor interactions. The results indicate the potential for safety and productivity issues in completing routine tasks. Training on monitor use should include critical monitoring functions that are necessary for safe, effective, efficient, and appropriate monitoring to include knowledge of the shortest navigation path. It is imperative that vendors’ future monitor designs mimic clinicians’ thought processes for successful, safe, and efficient monitor navigation.

Trends in Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections in Adult Intensive Care Units—United States, 1990–2007

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 748-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deron C. Burton ◽  
Jonathan R. Edwards ◽  
Arjun Srinivasan ◽  
Scott K. Fridkin ◽  
Carolyn V. Gould
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Urinary Tract ◽  
Intensive Care Units ◽  
Urinary Tract Infections ◽  
Asymptomatic Bacteriuria ◽  
The United States ◽  
Symptomatic Urinary Tract Infection ◽  
Prevention Guidelines ◽  
Tract Infections

Background.Over the past 2 decades, multiple interventions have been developed to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). The CAUTI prevention guidelines of the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee were recently revised.Objective.To examine changes in rates of CAUTI events in adult intensive care units (ICUs) in the United States from 1990 through 2007.Methods.Data were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System from 1990 through 2004 and the National Healthcare Safety Network from 2006 through 2007. Infection preventionists in participating hospitals used standard methods to identify all CAUTI events (categorized as symptomatic urinary tract infection [SUTI] or asymptomatic bacteriuria [ASB]) and urinary catheter–days (UC-days) in months selected for surveillance. Data from all facilities were aggregated to calculate pooled mean annual SUTI and ASB rates (in events per 1,000 UC-days) by ICU type. Poisson regression was used to estimate percent changes in rates over time.Results.Overall, 36,282 SUTIs and 22,973 ASB episodes were reported from 367 facilities representing 1,223 adult ICUs, including combined medical/surgical (505), medical (212), surgical (224), coronary (173), and cardiothoracic (109) ICUs. All ICU types experienced significant declines of 19%–67% in SUTI rates and 29%–72% in ASB rates from 1990 through 2007. Between 2000 and 2007, significant reductions in SUTI rates occurred in all ICU types except cardiothoracic ICUs.Conclusions.Since 1990, CAUTI rates have declined significantly in all major adult ICU types in facilities reporting to the CDC. Further efforts are needed to assess prevention strategies that might have led to these decreases and to implement new CAUTI prevention guidelines.

scholarly journals Patient safety culture at neonatal intensive care units: perspectives of the nursing and medical team

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 755-763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andréia Tomazoni ◽  
Patrícia Kuerten Rocha ◽  
Sabrina de Souza ◽  
Jane Cristina Anders ◽  
Hamilton Filipe Correia de Malfussi
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Intensive Care Units ◽  
Safety Culture ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Patient Safety Culture ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care Units ◽  
Cronbach’S Alpha ◽  
Cronbach's Alpha ◽  
Professional Characteristics

OBJECTIVE: to verify the assessment of the patient safety culture according to the function and length of experience of the nursing and medical teams at Neonatal Intensive Care Units.METHOD: quantitative survey undertaken at four Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Florianópolis, Brazil. The sample totaled 141 subjects. The data were collected between February and April 2013 through the application of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. For analysis, the Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-Square tests and Cronbach's Alpha coefficient were used. Approval for the research project was obtained from the Ethics Committee, CAAE: 05274612.7.0000.0121.RESULTS: differences in the number of positive answers to the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture, the safety grade and the number of reported events were found according to the professional characteristics. A significant association was found between a shorter Length of work at the hospital and Length of work at the unit and a larger number of positive answers; longer length of experience in the profession represented higher grades and less reported events. The physicians and nursing technicians assessed the patient safety culture more positively. Cronbach's alpha demonstrated the reliability of the instrument.CONCLUSION: the differences found reveal a possible relation between the assessment of the safety culture and the subjects' professional characteristics at the Neonatal Intensive Care Units.

scholarly journals Assessment of patient safety culture in intensive care units and factors affecting it

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M A Tlili ◽  
W Aouicha ◽  
H Lamine ◽  
E Taghouti ◽  
M B e n Dhiab ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Adverse Events ◽  
Intensive Care Units ◽  
Safety Culture ◽  
Improve Patient Safety ◽  
Healthcare Quality ◽  
Patient Safety Culture ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Learning From Errors

Abstract Background The intensive care units are a high-risk environments for the occurrence of adverse events with serious consequences. The development of patient safety culture is a strategic focus to prevent these adverse events and improve patient safety and healthcare quality. This study aimed to assess patient safety culture in Tunisian intensive care units and to determine its associated factors. Methods It is a multicenter, descriptive cross-sectional study, among healthcare professionals of the intensive care units in the Tunisian center. The data collection was spread over a period of 2 months (October-November 2017). The measuring instrument used is the validated French version of the Hospital Survey On Patient Safety Culture questionnaire. Data entry and analysis was carried out by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20.0) and Epi Info 6.04. Chi-square test was used to explore factors associated with patient safety culture. Results A total of 404 professionals participated in the study with a participation rate of 81.94%, spread over 10 hospitals and 18 units. All dimensions were to be improved. The overall perception of safety was 32.35%. The most developed dimension was teamwork within units with a score of 47.87% and the least developed dimension was the non-punitive response to error (18.6%). The patient safety culture was significantly more developed in private hospitals in seven of the 10 dimensions. Participants working in small units had a significantly higher patient safety culture. It has been shown that when workload is reduced the patient safety culture was significantly increased. Conclusions This study has shown that the patient safety culture still needs to be improved and allowed a clearer view of the safety aspects requiring special attention. Thus, improving patient safety culture. by implementing the quality management and error reporting systems could contribute to enhance the quality of healthcare provided to patients. Key messages The culture of culpability is the main weakness in the study. Encouraging event reporting and learning from errors s should be priorities in hospitals to enhance patient safety and healthcare quality.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of application of a manual for improvement of alarms management by nurses in Intensive Care Units

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amirhossein Yousefinya ◽  
Camellia Torabizadeh ◽  
Farid Zand ◽  
Mahnaz Rakhshan ◽  
Mohammad Fararooei
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care ◽  
Intensive Care Units ◽  
Blood Pressure Monitoring ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Alarm Management ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
And Control ◽  
Time Type

Objective. To evaluate the effects of application of a manual on the improvement of alarms management in Intensive Care Units (ICU). Methods. This quasi-experimental study evaluated the effectiveness of the introduction into of a manual for alarm management and control in the ICU of a hospital in southeastern Iran. The intervention was a 4-hour workshop was on topics related to the adverse effects of alarms, standardization of ECG, oxygen saturation and blood pressure monitoring systems, and the use of ventilators and infusion pumps. Data were collected thorough 200 hours of observation of 60 ICU nurses (100 hours’ pre-intervention and 100 hours’ post-intervention). Response time, type of response, customization of alarm settings for each patient, the person responding to an alarm, and the cause of the alarm were analyzed. Alarms were classified into three types: false, true and technical. Results. The results showed a statistically significant difference between the pre- and post-intervention frequency of alarm types, frequency of monitoring parameters, customized monitoring settings for patients, and individuals who responded to alarms. The percentage of effective interventions was significantly higher for all parameters after the intervention (46.9%) than before the intervention (38.9%). Conclusion. The employment of a manual for management of alarms from electronic equipment in ICUs can increase the frequency of appropriate responses to alarms in these units.

Variation in Performance of Neonatal Intensive Care Units in the United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 171 (3) ◽  
pp. e164396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey D. Horbar ◽  
Erika M. Edwards ◽  
Lucy T. Greenberg ◽  
Kate A. Morrow ◽  
Roger F. Soll ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Intensive Care Units ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Implementation of a multimodal patient safety improvement program “SafetyLEAP” in intensive care units

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chantal Backman ◽  
Paul C. Hebert ◽  
Alison Jennings ◽  
David Neilipovitz ◽  
Omar Choudhri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Intensive Care Units ◽  
Audit And Feedback ◽  
Improvement Program ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Safety Improvement ◽  
Patient Safety Improvement

Purpose Patient safety remains a top priority in healthcare. Many organizations have developed systems to monitor and prevent harm, and have invested in different approaches to quality improvement. Despite these organizational efforts to better detect adverse events, efficient resolution of safety problems remains a significant challenge. The authors developed and implemented a comprehensive multimodal patient safety improvement program called SafetyLEAP. The term “LEAP” is an acronym that highlights the three facets of the program including: a Leadership and Engagement approach; Audit and feedback; and a Planned improvement intervention. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the implementation of the SafetyLEAP program in the intensive care units (ICUs) of three large hospitals. Design/methodology/approach A comparative case study approach was used to compare and contrast the adherence to each component of the SafetyLEAP program. The study was conducted using a convenience sample of three (n=3) ICUs from two provinces. Two reviewers independently evaluated major adherence metrics of the SafetyLEAP program for their completeness. Analysis was performed for each individual case, and across cases. Findings A total of 257 patients were included in the study. Overall, the proportion of the SafetyLEAP tasks completed was 64.47, 100, and 26.32 percent, respectively. ICU nos 1 and 2 were able to identify opportunities for improvement, follow a quality improvement process and demonstrate positive changes in patient safety. The main factors influencing adherence were the engagement of a local champion, competing priorities, and the identification of appropriate resources. Practical implications The SafetyLEAP program allowed for the identification of processes that could result in patient harm in the ICUs. However, the success in improving patient safety was dependent on the engagement of the care teams. Originality/value The authors developed an evidence-based approach to systematically and prospectively detect, improve, and evaluate actions related to patient safety.

Nurses’ Implementation of Guidelines for Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn L. Cason ◽  
Tracy Tyner ◽  
Sue Saunders ◽  
Lisa Broome
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
Intensive Care Units ◽  
Oral Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hand Washing ◽  
Ventilator Associated Pneumonia ◽  
Care Protocol ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Centers For Disease Control

• Background Ventilator-associated pneumonia accounts for 47% of infections in patients in intensive care units. Adherence to the best nursing practices recommended in the 2003 guidelines for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should reduce the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia. • Objective To evaluate the extent to which nurses working in intensive care units implement best practices when managing adult patients receiving mechanical ventilation. • Methods Nurses attending education seminars in the United States completed a 29-item questionnaire about the type and frequency of care provided. • Results Twelve hundred nurses completed the questionnaire. Most (82%) reported compliance with hand-washing guidelines, 75% reported wearing gloves, half reported elevating the head of the bed, a third reported performing subglottic suctioning, and half reported having an oral care protocol in their hospital. Nurses in hospitals with an oral care protocol reported better compliance with hand washing and maintaining head-of-bed elevation, were more likely to regularly provide oral care, and were more familiar with rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia and the organisms involved than were nurses working in hospitals without such protocols. • Conclusions The guidelines for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are not consistently or uniformly implemented. Practices of nurses employed in hospitals with oral care protocols are more often congruent with the guidelines than are practices of nurses employed in hospitals without such protocols. Significant reductions in rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia may be achieved by broader implementation of oral care protocols.

scholarly journals The prevalence and characteristics of rapid response systems in hospitals with pediatric intensive care units in Japan and barriers to their use

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 325-331
Author(s):  
Taiki Haga ◽  
Hiroshi Kurosawa ◽  
Junji Maruyama ◽  
Katsuko Sakamoto ◽  
Ryo Ikebe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care ◽  
Intensive Care Units ◽  
Pediatric Intensive Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rapid Response ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Pediatric Intensive Care Units ◽  
Rapid Response Systems ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Response Systems

Abstract Objective The use of pediatric rapid response systems (RRSs) to improve the safety of hospitalized children has spread in various western countries including the United States and the United Kingdom. We aimed to determine the prevalence and characteristics of pediatric RRSs and barriers to use in Japan, where epidemiological information is limited. Design A cross-sectional online survey. Setting All 34 hospitals in Japan with pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in 2019. Participants One PICU physician per hospital responded to the questionnaire as a delegate. Main outcome measures Prevalence of pediatric RRSs in Japan and barriers to their use. Results The survey response rate was 100%. Pediatric RRSs had been introduced in 14 (41.2%) institutions, and response teams comprised a median of 6 core members. Most response teams employed no full-time members and largely comprised members from multiple disciplines and departments who served in addition to their main duties. Of 20 institutions without pediatric RRSs, 11 (55%) hoped to introduce them, 14 (70%) had insufficient knowledge concerning them and 11 (55%) considered that their introduction might be difficult. The main barrier to adopting RRSs was a perceived personnel and/or funding shortage. There was no significant difference in hospital beds (mean, 472 vs. 524, P = 0.86) and PICU beds (mean, 10 vs. 8, P = 0.34) between institutions with/without pediatric RRSs. Conclusions Fewer than half of Japanese institutions with PICUs had pediatric RRSs. Operating methods for and obstructions to RRSs were diverse. Our findings may help to popularize pediatric RRSs.

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