Development and Application of a Clinical Microsystem Simulation Methodology for Human Factors-Based Research of Alarm Fatigue:

Objectives:(1) To develop a clinical microsystem simulation methodology for alarm fatigue research with a human factors engineering (HFE) assessment framework and (2) to explore its application to the comparative examination of different approaches to patient monitoring and provider notification.Background:Problems with the design, implementation, and real-world use of patient monitoring systems result in alarm fatigue. A multidisciplinary team is developing an open-source tool kit to promote bedside informatics research and mitigate alarm fatigue.Method:Simulation, HFE, and computer science experts created a novel simulation methodology to study alarm fatigue. Featuring multiple interconnected simulated patient scenarios with scripted timeline, “distractor” patient care tasks, and triggered true and false alarms, the methodology incorporated objective metrics to assess provider and system performance. Developed materials were implemented during institutional review board–approved study sessions that asse...