Abstract
At a clinical alarms summit convened in 2011, hospitals and industry were challenged to join forces in reaching, by 2017, the goal of no patients being harmed by adverse alarm events.1 Although substantial advances have been made in meeting this challenge, clinicians have reached a roadblock when it comes to managing clinical alarms. This impasse necessitates the need to shift focus to a broader process perspective that includes clinical workflow. According to a substantial body of knowledge,2–12 clinical alarms require modification and management. However, the secondary alarm notification stopgaps put in place by hospitals have frequently exacerbated the problem, causing duplication of alarms, including nonactionable and nuisance alarms. The challenge in communicating only essential alarm and alert information to the proper person or care-team is a challenge that recent advances in clinical technology could work to resolve.