Telemetry is supposed to help manage active cardiac conditions in patients but clinicians also use it for stable arrhythmias and monitoring noncardiac conditions.
Highlighted below are six potential issues clinicians should be aware of when using telemetry, as outlined in the JAMA report.
1. Despite many clinicians using telemetry outside its guidelines for noncardiac conditions, few clinicians actually adjust patient care based on nonprotocol telemetry monitoring.
2. Using telemetry may give clinicians a false sense of security, leading to less frequent in-person assessments.
3. Unnecessary alarms or misinterpretation of telemetry data can potentially cause care management errors, as well as extraneous testing and interventions.
4. Nurses spend an average of 20 minutes a day on telemetry-related tasks such as changing batteries and leads, time that increases the likelihood of alarm fatigue in nurses and takes away from other aspects of care.
5. Since telemetry beds are limited in number and costly, patients who require them frequently end up waiting in the emergency department, slowing down hospital throughput.
6. Overusing telemetry can lead to increased hospital costs, estimated at around $250,000 a year for an average 400-bed hospital.
More articles on telemetry:
How Christiana Care Health System used electronic ordering to reduce unnecessary telemetry by 70%
How a Delaware hospital group cut daily telemetry costs by 70 percent
EMR Surveillance Improves Sepsis Clinical Outcomes
