In 2022, ZGT (Ziekenhuisgroep Twente) faced the necessary replacement of its existing alarm system. What began as a technical upgrade evolved into a hospital-wide transformation of both the alarm process and the mindset surrounding it. Healthcare professionals no longer experience alarms as disruptive: technology, process, and mindset now work together to form a safe alarm chain. The MDDG platform from itemedical provides the stable infrastructure that supports this chain, ensuring alarms reach the right caregiver reliably and safely.
Nurses, technicians, and management shared a single belief: alarm management only works effectively when the entire chain is correct, from call button to smartphone and from server to caregiver. This understanding formed the basis of the renewed VOS MOS MAS (Nursing Call System – Medical Call System – Medical Alarm System).
The solution
ZGT did not simply implement a new system, but introduced a hospital-wide standard configuration (baseline). On more than forty departments, all teams operate according to the same principles for priorities, delays, and escalations. This uniformity creates calm and helps new staff quickly understand how alarm management works, regardless of the department they work in.
Only afterward does ZGT focus on department-specific optimization, based on measurement data and team experience rather than intuition. This balance between uniformity and customization results in:
- Rapid recognition of alarm logic for everyone
- Flexible staff deployment
- Fewer interpretation differences
- More efficient processes in daily care
What changed
Thanks to a single “language of alarms” and the reliable MDDG infrastructure:
- Healthcare staff experience more calm and situational overview
- Interpretation errors have decreased
- Uniformity contributes to safe and efficient work
- Data-driven optimization continuously improves practice
ZGT’s approach demonstrates that technology truly works only when you have insight into the entire chain, from technology to behavior, with MDDG as the reliable core of the system.
The strength lies not in fewer alarms, but in striving for an environment where there is confidence that every alarm sounds for a valid reason.
Ben Sawaryn, Qualified Medical Engineer and Chain Coordinator VOS-MOS-MAS, ZGT, The Netherlands