Joint Commission to kick off Phase 2 of clinical alarm management goal

Joint Commission enters Phase 2 of clinical alarm management goal Jan. 1
Phase 2 of the Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goal 06.01.01 begins Jan. 1. In this phase, hospitals and critical access hospitals need to establish and implement polices and procedures for managing clinical alarms.

To meet elements of performance, hospitals will be expected to develop and implement specific components of policies and procedures that at a minimum address:

• Clinically appropriate settings
• When alarms can be disabled
• When parameters can be changed
• Who can set and change parameters and who can set to "off"
• Monitoring and response expectations
• Checking individual alarm signals for accurate settings, proper operation and detectability

Under Phase 2, hospitals also are expected to educate those in the organization who will be responsible for alarm system management on new policies and procedures.

According to data from the Joint Commission, roughly 85 to 99 percent of medical equipment alarms that ring in hospitals do not require clinical intervention and are often sounding off because of improper equipment settings or other equipment-related issues. This can lead to alarm fatigue among clinical staff and put patient safety at risk. 

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