Amplion Implements Alarm Management Consulting Service

Amplion Clinical Communications (Amplion) has designed an Alarm Management Consulting service for hospitals and health systems aimed to address and satisfy the requirements for The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) on Alarm Management.

The Joint Commission has mandated that hospitals improve their alarm management process in 2014, and by the end of 2015 establish policies and procedures. In January 2016, hospitals are expected to develop and implement strategies to address key areas of concern and to support effective alarm management.

Taking the initiative with Amplion is Kadlec Regional Medical Center, rolling out Amplion’s alarm management consulting service. Located in Richland, Wash., Kadlec is a 270-bed general medical/surgical, not-for-profit hospital that has been awarded for positive strides in patient safety and quality care over the years.

“I wanted to analyze our patient alarm needs before selecting an alarm management solution. Amplion listened and provided a customized alarm consulting service to help us meet the Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goal and developed the solution to meet our needs,” said Roy Kearns, Manager Clinical Engineering at Kadlec Regional Medical Center.

Customized to address Kadlec’s challenges, the two organizations are working together to achieve the following objectives:

• Catalogue wide variety of 50+ alarming medical devices;
• Document improvements after changing the devices’ alarming parameters; and
• Deliver a Joint Commission-ready report, detailing all findings and hospital alarm policies.

Amplion’s Alarm Management Consulting Service follows a three-phase approach, highlighted below:

• Phase One - Current State / Assessment
• Phase Two - Alarm Data Collection
• Phase Three - Alarm Management Report & Recommendations

About Kadlec

Kadlec Regional Medical Center is a not-for-profit health system serving a population of close to 500,000 residents in southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon. For more information about Kadlec, visit www.kadlec.org.

About Amplion Clinical Communications (Amplion)

Amplion's Alarm Management Consulting Service is based on a subset of its clinical communication systems that take patient care to the next level. It supports hospitals of all sizes to improve quality, safety and cost of care while enhancing patient satisfaction. For more information about Amplion, visit www.amplionalert.com.