At the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), itemedical investigated the impact of intelligent alarm processing in two departments: D3VA, a specialized pulmonary ward, and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Nurses in both departments experienced high alarm pressure, affecting job satisfaction, response speed, and patient safety. Alarms were often loud, frequent, and not always clinically relevant. UMCG sought a solution to reduce alarm burden while improving clinical workflows.
The solution
UMCG chose to implement the Medical Device Data Gateway (MDDG) as an alarm management system to:
- Filter alarms based on actionability
- Enrich alerts with contextual information
- Ensure only relevant signals reach caregivers
- Make alarm burden transparent and reduce it purposefully
- Involve nurses in the configuration of alarm settings.
The combination of intelligent filtering, team training, and ongoing monitoring resulted in measurable outcomes and greater satisfaction among the care team.
What changed
Data analysis showed the following results.
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU):
- 93% fewer alarms thanks to alarm processing via MDDG
- Only relevant signals reach nurses
- Increased response speed due to added context and focus
- Positive experiences with workflow and configurability
- Need for fine-tuning in case of duplicate alerts.
D3VA Pulmonary Ward:
- 76.8% fewer alarms thanks to alarm processing via MDDG
- Average alarm duration decreased by 8.6 seconds (30%)
- Number of long-lasting alarms >180 seconds decreased significantly.
From the interviews:
- Positive impact on workflow and perceived calmness
- Nurses feel more empowered and involved
- Alarm fatigue is hard to quantify, but the reduction in stimuli is tangible
- Clear insight into results motivates the team to keep improving
- Key focus points: preventing duplicate alarms and avoiding unnecessary escalations.
With this approach, the alarm management system continues to evolve and supports UMCG in its ambition to combine calm, safety, and efficiency in daily practice.
Seeing in black and white how many fewer alarms come through, that’s when you truly realise how much things have improved. It’s motivating.
Nurse NICU, UMC Groningen