Bed Chair Alarms

Currently in the healthcare setting, alarms are used in almost every aspect of care, from intensive care units down to basic care or outpatient settings. The advance in technology over the past decade or so has helped to further the implementation and scope of alarm usage. Alarms, such as cardiac monitors, bed/chair alarms, and alarms on enteral feeding and intravenous pumps, are used to monitor patient safety. These alarms work by producing some sort of signal that alerts staff members to a patient who could be in danger due to a declining condition. While alarms were primarily invented to protect patients from unnoticed declines in condition, in some instances these alarms do more harm than good. Originally alarms were only used on …show more content…
There are some disadvantages to using bed/chair alarms, but overall the benefits outweigh the risk. Using a bed/chair alarms can be an alternative to restraint use, which is heavily regulated and sometimes presents even more problems. Patients can either wear the sensors clipped to their clothes or a sensor pad can be placed underneath the patient directly on the chair or bed, this can be more beneficial to the patient because “Products that alert nursing staff to a patient’s movement can also serve as alternatives to restraints” (Rogers and Bacchino, 1999). Sensors or alarms appear more human than placing a patient in restraints, as restraints only allow minimal movement and contribute to more agitation. Therefore, if alarms can be used in place of restraints, it would be a more beneficial situation for that patient. For example, a patient with dementia might forget that their gait is unsteady and they need assistance with transferring, a way to to keep this patient safe and alert the staff to their unassisted movements would be to put a light weight bed/chair alarm. This alarm could consist of a “patient-worn sensor, a lightweight alarm worn above the knee that’s position sensitive. ..... when the led shifts from a horizontal to a dependent angle of 45 degrees, the alarm emits an intermittent …show more content…
For example, if health care providers were able to easily tailor alarms to match a patient, an athlete, whose normal resting heart rate is low, and who is hooked up to a cardiac monitor could have the settings tailed to alarm only when his heart rate falls well below his normal resting rate. In addition to being able to personalize alarms to each individual patient, alarms would be more beneficial if they were able to cluster multiple alerts (“Troubling stat”, 2015). For example, if a patient's temperature, respiration, blood-pressure, and pulse are all elevated, instead of signaling four different alarms, signal one major alarm that alerts you to all of those status