Assessment of a Targeted Electronic Health Record Intervention to Reduce Telemetry Duration

Abstract

Cardiac monitoring, or telemetry, can provide early detection of sudden cardiac death, identification and monitoring of arrhythmias, and evaluation of ST segment and QT interval changes.¹ Despite American Heart Association (AHA) indication–specific best practice standards, telemetry is overused, both in initiation and in duration of monitoring.^1-3 This results in excess cost and “alarm fatigue,” a phenomenon of desensitization to alarms when they are frequently false or irrelevant.^4-6 The American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation recommends a protocol to promote early telemetry discontinuation.⁷