Medical Device Alarm Fatigue

Medical device alarm incidents resulting in patient deaths or inappropriate patient care have been a persistent problem for several years. A condition known as alarm fatigue has been identified as a precursor to medical device alarm adverse events. This article reviews the complexity of the medical device alarm conundrum and identifies specific event moderators as an exercise in systems science. A definition of alarm fatigue is presented, and plausible actions to prevent future medical device alarm events are suggested.