A hospital accrediting group said Monday that beeping from vital-monitoring devices in hospitals is leading to deaths, according to the Associated Press.
The machines, that are supposed to monitor the vital-signs of patients, beep so much that health care employees don’t think anything of the noises at times.
There has been an average of at least 24 deaths a year, but according to the Joint Commission, the number is actually higher because many incidents go unreported.
A rising issue has been is the vast amount of technology, but little knowledge concerning what each beep signifies, said Dr. Ana McKee, executive vice president and chief medical examiner for the Joint Commission. Sometimes beeping occurs when patients are near death and sometimes beeping occurs when the machine is malfunctioning.
According to the commission, hospital staff can become weary of all the beeping and may even wait to attend to patients.
The United States Food and Drug Administration reports a much higher number than two dozen a year. The FDA puts the number of deaths at about 500 deaths from January 2005 to June 2010. The number includes malfunctions for which a report was required and in some instances there wasn't a clear connection to patient death.
The commission reports the number of deaths from January 2009 to June 2012 at 80. The report also includes 13 critical injuries.
According to McKee, hospitals hand the commission reports of these types of deaths, though they are not required to, and the commission decides if the devices are linked the death of a patient. However, the actual amount of device-related deaths may be higher.
Sometimes neglecting or not understanding the reason for a beep could lead to a series of events that end up in death or severe injury. McGee said determining the first incident in the chain of events can be tricky.
Incident with alarms also included waiting too long to give a patient the required care or a patient falling off of the bed. Both of these, along with possibly giving the patient the incorrect medication, can lead to death or injury according to the commission.
Despite the many issues with the systems, the biggest issue is still noise fatigue. The commission is attempting to raise awareness for hospitals around the country.
