Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1495475
17 PATIENT & CAREGIVER EXPERIENCE Changing the tune of medical alarms can improve patient, clinician experience: study By Mariah Taylor H amilton, Ontario-based McMaster University and Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University researchers found changing the tune of hospital medical devices can improve patient and clinician experience. In the study, published in The British Journal of Anesthesia, researchers compared industry-standard flat beeps with alarm tones that rise and fall gradually like musical notes. Study participants reported the alarm tones were detectable and did not interfere with concurrent speech comprehension. They also found the alarm tones less annoying than flat tones. "Healthcare settings are a horrible cacophony of sound; we're barraged by auditory alarms that are loud, annoying, not informative, and often false or non-actionable," Joseph Schlesinger, MD, a study co-author and associate professor of anesthesiology at Vanderbilt University, said in a Feb. 15 McMaster University news release. "There's also the sounds of conversations and other equipment. Imagine you're a patient being woken up. You can end up developing sleep deprivation or ICU delirium, which can lead to long-term cognitive impairment." According to data released by the FDA, issues with hospital alarms have contributed to more than 500 deaths. Effective alarms alert staff members faster than speech or visual warnings and allow their eyes to focus on other tasks, according to the release. n 5 patient experience tips from Cleveland Clinic's former CXO By Ashleigh Hollowell A drienne Boissy, MD, a practicing neurologist and Cleveland Clinic's former chief experience officer, has been in healthcare for 20 years, but as is the case with so many professionals in the field, COVID-19 reshaped how she viewed the patient experience and her role as a provider. Recognizing that as she has experienced many changes and overcome challenges since the onset of the pandemic both professionally and personally, Dr. Boissy detailed some of her takeaways from the last few years to help guide other patient experience professionals in a Qualtrics blog post. 1. Be brave — Dr. Boissy writes that for healthcare professionals, this can simply emulate reflective listening and compassion. 2. Chase your joy — is can look different for everyone, of course, but specifically, she explains that it is important to understand "when we find ourselves in environments that ask us to compromise our values — like choosing scores over people — that moral distress gets created and, over time, burnout. We have to find the joy or move on." 3. Li — Rather than physically liing heavy things, Dr. Boissy stresses the importance of liing one another up in the healthcare profession and finding ways to incorporate gratitude for yourself and your colleagues day to day. 4. Define everything — By defining your own metrics of patient experience, Dr. Boissy explains that metrics like teamwork, empathy, safety, and ease with billing or telehealth services all matter to track because they are "holistic metrics that matter to actual humans," she writes. 5. Be weird — Likely not a traditional guideline you may expect from a seasoned patient experience professional, but Dr. Boissy details that being human and watching experiences patients go through does affect every professional in some way, and it's okay to allow it to. "If we as empathy amplifiers don't lead the way by modeling compassion to our colleagues and selves, we contribute to the sharp pain of suffering that is invisible, unknown, and carried alone. So, harness your weird. Your creativity. People need us," Dr. Boissy concludes. n Adrienne Boissy, MD, MA Image Credit: Cleveland Clinic