Electronic Medical Nags are Largely Ignored

First there was the machine that went ping. Then there were a lot of pings because of all the machines around patients and it became clear that most of them were not relevant (94% of alarms in the pediatric intensive care unit). Although there was some work done to attempt to reduce the noise, a lot of the monitors now have their alarms silenced. So, perhaps it is not too surprising that a recent study has shown that many of the electronic health record-driven advice, reminders, and warnings regarding medication are now being ignored. This begs the question whether the solution is primarily addressable by technology or really a matter of re-engineering the process of patient care.

(hat tip Ted Shortliffe)