AlarmSense: Optimizing Alarm Management for Enhanced Patient Care at MaineHealth

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Outcome

With AlarmSense, MaineHealth’s CTICU gained the tools and data visibility to make informed alarm management decisions, resulting in more targeted protocols and a stronger foundation for future improvements.

Results reflect a comparison of 3 months post workflow intervention versus 12 months of pre intervention baseline data across 16 CTICU beds.
Supported the development of tailored alarm management protocols that aligned with both clinical practice and safety standards.
- Reduction of:
  - 97% in Irregular HR alarms,
  - 95% in Non-Sustained VT alarms,
  - 49% in desaturation alarms,
  - 33% in apnea alarms
  - 10% in low SpO2 alarms.
Enabled more consistent and cross-functional approaches to alarm management by surfacing actionable insights that informed both clinical workflows and safety strategies

Solution

MaineHealth’s CTICU partnered with NKDHS to implement AlarmSense, a solution that brings clinical insight and bedside-level detail to alarm data. This enabled more targeted, data-driven interventions in alarm management.

AlarmSense was used to analyze alarm burden and guide targeted configuration and workflow changes, which were then implemented and measured for impact.
Collected and analyzed 1.29M+ Philips Bedside monitoring alarms.
Identified high-frequency, low-actionability alarms guiding precise configuration changes using clinical metrics.
Collaborated with clinical staff and engineers to apply changes to arrhythmia and vital sign alarms, using both objective data and clinician feedback for iteration.
Implemented evidence-based configuration changes in the CTICU:
- Disabled Non-Sustained VT and irregular HR alarms
- SpO2 low limit adjusted from 90% to 89%
- SpO2 desaturation limit adjusted from 85% to 83%
- SpO2 averaging time increased from 8 seconds to 12 seconds
- Apnea time increased from 20 seconds to 30 seconds

Opportunity

CTICU knew they had an “alarm problem” but had no idea where the problems were or what the best changes would be. While alarm volume was high, existing reports didn’t clarify which alarms could be safely adjusted or how settings differed across the unit.

Alarm reports lacked granularity, making it difficult to understand differences across beds, units, or shifts.
Clinicians and administrators needed actionable data to guide sustainable alarm management strategies

Quick Stats

AlarmSense analysis across 16 Cardiac ICU beds led to reductions of:

97% in Irregular HR alarms,
95% in Non-Sustained VT alarms,
49% in desaturation alarms,
33% in apnea alarms
10% in low SpO2 alarms.

MaineHeath’s CTICU faced persistent challenges with alarm fatigue, lacking the actionable data needed to guide meaningful improvements. Existing alarm reports offered only high-level totals, masking critical variation across beds, patients, and shifts. With AlarmSense, the team gained a clearer view of alarm burden by collecting detailed bedside data, applying clinically informed metrics, and tracking changes over time. This enabled more focused interventions, improved clinical alignment, and helped shape a safer, quieter care environment now supported by data.