Alarms Reports Descriptions
Generating an Alarm Report
About Alarm Reports
If the Capacity IQ® solution is fully integrated with TeleTracking RTLS, and your hospital uses the Patient Walkout Alarm, Staff Assistance Alarm, or Patient Isolated Location Alarm features, then a TeleTracking RTLS Alarms report is available that can help you track instances of alarms that were raised. This can help you to monitor:
Which patient or staff member triggered an alarm.
When and where the alarm was triggered.
Which staff member acknowledged the alarm, and when.
The following are the available alarms. There is a report for each alarm.
Patient Walkout Alarm—A patient walkout alarm is helpful for units with certain patient populations, such as dementia patients or prisoners. If a patient wearing a TeleTracking RTLS badge leaves the unit where their home location is and that patient is not accompanied by a staff member wearing a badge, then a device called a beacon that is installed outside the patient's home location unit detects the patient's badge. An alarm sounds and a warning appears on staff members' computers, and an email can be sent automatically to one or more email addresses when this alarm is raised. Pieces of equipment called exit monitors are installed at exits in the units. After a staff member's badge has been scanned at an exit monitor, the alarm will be disabled temporarily 1) for the number of seconds configured in the Admin Tool or in Admin > Settings > Capacity Management so that one patient can also exit OR 2) until after one patient exits the unit (whichever comes first). Sometimes patients who require walkout alarms are on the same unit with patients who do not. On the Patient/Placement Details form in the PatientTracking Portal® or PreAdmitTracking® Application, nursing unit or placement staff can select the Patient Walkout Alarm Opt Out check box for a patient who does not require a walkout alarm.
Important Note!
If the Capacity IQ® solution becomes unavailable (for example, a power cord on the server becomes disconnected accidentally), but TeleTracking RTLS is available, and a patient walks out during that time, the alarm will be raised after the Capacity IQ® solution becomes available again.
Isolated Location Alarm—The isolated location alarm is helpful for locations where patients who are at risk for falling might be alone, such as shower rooms or bathrooms. After a patient who is wearing a TeleTracking RTLS badge has been in an isolated location for the number of minutes configured in the Admin Tool or Admin > Settings > Capacity Management component without a staff member who is wearing a badge, the alarm will sound and a warning will appear on staff members' computer screens in the PatientTracking Portal® application, and an email can be sent automatically to one or more email addresses. If a staff member enters the isolated location and then leaves while the patient is still there, the timer that counts the number of minutes that the patient has been alone starts over again.
Important Note!
If the Capacity IQ® solution becomes unavailable (for example, a power cord on the server becomes disconnected accidentally), but TeleTracking RTLS is available, and a patient is detected in an isolated location during that time, if the patient is still detected in the isolated location after the Capacity IQ® solution becomes available again, then the alarm will be raised. If the patient is not detected in the isolated location after the Capacity IQ® solution becomes available, then the alarm will NOT be raised.
Staff Assistance Alarm—If a staff member presses a button on their staff badge to indicate that they need someone to come and help them, an alarm will sound and a warning will appear on other staff members' computer screens in the PatientTracking Portal® application. If the staff member presses the button at a time when the PatientTracking Portal® application is not open on any unit staff member's computer, then an email can be sent automatically to one or more email addresses indicating that help is needed.
Important Note!
If the Capacity IQ® solution becomes unavailable (for example, a power cord on the server becomes disconnected accidentally), but TeleTracking RTLS is available, and a staff member presses a button on their staff badge during that time, the alarm will NOT be raised after the Capacity IQ® solution becomes available again.
This report is available only if the Capacity IQ® solution is fully integrated with the TeleTracking Real-Time Locating System™.
Licenses
Your organization must have either the PatientTracking or Staff Tracking license before you can generate alarm reports.
Permissions
You must have the PreAdmitTracking® application permission called Run Any Report, Including Those That Reveal Patient Information to generate a Patient Isolated Location Alarm or Patient Walkout Alarm report.
You must have the PreAdmitTracking® application permission called Run Any Report, Including Those That Reveal Patient Information OR Run Only Reports That Do Not Reveal Patient Information to generate a Staff Assistance Alarm report.
Report Parameters
Criteria selected when the report was being generated appear under Report Parameters. An example is the name of the campus selected when the report was generated.
About the Report Data
Only alarms that were raised within the date and time range selected appear on the report. For example, if the date range May 5, 2014 through May 5, 2014 was selected and the time range 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM was selected, then only alarms that were raised between 7 AM and 3 PM on May 5 appear on the report.
Only alarms that were raised within the selected campus are included. If specific units were selected, then only alarms that were raised within those units are included.
The report shows either staff members or patients, depending on the selection made for Alarm Type when the report was generated. If Patient Walkout Alarm or Patient Isolated Location was selected when the report was generated, then the report includes patient information. If Staff Assistance was selected, then the report includes staff member information. Staff members can include temporary or agency employees in addition to employees who are Capacity IQ® solution users and physicians.
If the selected alarm type was Patient Walkout Alarm or Patient Isolated Location and specific patients were selected, then the report shows only data that is related to those patients and that meets the other report criteria. If all patients were included, then data related to all patients and staff members that also meets the other report criteria appears.
If the selected alarm type was Staff Assistance Alarm and specific staff members were selected, then the report shows only data that is related to those staff members and that meets the other report criteria. If all staff members were included, then data related to all staff members that also meets the other report criteria appears. Staff members can include temporary or agency employees in addition to employees who are Capacity IQ® solution users and physicians.
RTLS Alarm Report Column Descriptions
The following information appears on the report.
PDF File or Microsoft Excel Formatted Output
Samples
Trigger date and time indicate when the alarm was raised. Blanks in Acknowledged columns indicate that no one formally acknowledged the alarms using the PatientTracking Portal® application. Acknowledgment means that a PatientTracking Portal® user moved a slider bar in the application with a mouse or (on a touch screen) with their finger.
Patient Isolated Location
Grouped by Unit
Grouped by Patient
Patient Walkout Alarm
Grouped by Unit
Grouped by Patient
Staff Assistance Alarm
Grouped by Staff
Grouped by Unit
Column | Description |
Unit, Staff Member, or Patient Name | When the report was generated, either Unit, Patient (for Patient Walkout and Patient Isolated Location), or Staff (for Staff Assistance) was selected for Group By. Depending on the selection, either a unit, a patient, or a staff member name will be shown. If a staff member name is shown, the staff member's staff type will also appear. Staff members can include temporary or agency employees in addition to employees who are Capacity IQ® solution users and physicians. If a patient is shown, the patient's medical record number and visit number will appear. |
Trigger Date and Time | The actual date and time when the alarm was triggered or raised. Dates and times are in the format selected for the enterprise in the Admin Tool or Admin > Settings > Capacity Management component. |
Unit, Patient, or Staff | Depending on the option selected for Group by and the type of report generated, this column will show either the abbreviation of the unit where the alarms were triggered or raised, the name of the patient who triggered the alarm, or the name of the staff member who requested assistance (for the Staff Assistance Alarm report). |
Location | The abbreviation used to represent the location where the alarm was triggered or raised (for example, B122A for Bed 122A). This is the abbreviation for the location as it has been configured in Capacity IQ® Solution rather than in TeleTracking RTLS. For the Patient Walkout Alarm report, this is the location outside where the exit monitor detected the patient leaving the unit. For the Patient Isolated Location Alarm report, this is the location where the patient was detected alone for a certain period of time. For the Staff Assistance Alarm report, this is the location where the staff member requested assistance. |
Acknowledged Date/Time | The date and time when a user moved the slider bar on the alarm warning that appeared in the PatientTracking Portal® application to indicate that they were acknowledging the alarm. Dates and times are in the format selected for the enterprise in the Admin Tool or Admin > Settings > Capacity Management component. If no one acknowledged the alarm, this column is blank. |
Acknowledged by | The user name of the user who acknowledged the alarm. If no one acknowledged the alarm, this column is blank. If a staff assistance alarm was triggered or raised when the PatientTracking Portal® application was not open on any computer in the unit, and the administrator configured email addresses that should receive email notifications, then the email address to which the notification was sent appears. |
Microsoft Excel-Unformatted Output
The following columns appear in the Microsoft Excel-Unformatted output.
Column | Description |
Alarm Type | Whether the alarm was a Staff Assistance alarm, a Patient Walkout alarm, or a Patient Isolated Location alarm. |
Date and Time | The actual date and time when the alarm was triggered or raised. Dates and times are in the format selected for the enterprise in the Admin Tool or Admin > Settings > Capacity Management component. |
Staff or Patient | Name of staff member who requested assistance and triggered the Staff Assistance Alarm (for the Staff Assistance Alarm report). Staff members can include temporary or agency employees in addition to employees who are Capacity IQ® solution users and physicians. Name of patient who triggered or raised the Patient Walkout Alarm or Patient Isolated Location Alarm (for Patient Walkout Alarm report or Patient Isolated Location report). |
Medical Record Number and Visit Number, or Staff Type | If a patient is shown, the patient's medical record number and visit number will appear (for Patient Walkout Alarm report or Patient Isolated Location Alarm report). If a staff member name is shown, the staff member's staff type (such as RN or Staff Nurse) will appear (for Staff Assistance Alarm report). |
Unit | The abbreviation of the unit where the alarm was raised or triggered. |
Location | The abbreviation used to represent the location where the alarm was triggered or raised (for example, B122A for Bed 122A). This is the abbreviation for the location as it has been configured in Capacity IQ® Solution rather than in TeleTracking RTLS. For the Patient Walkout Alarm report, this is the location outside where the exit monitor detected the patient leaving the unit. For the Patient Isolated Location Alarm report, this is the location where the patient was detected alone for a certain period of time. For the Staff Assistance Alarm report, this is the location where the staff member requested assistance. |
Acknowledged Date/Time | The date and time when a user moved the slider bar on the alarm warning that appeared in the PatientTracking Portal® application to indicate that they were acknowledging the alarm. Dates and times are in the format selected for the enterprise in the Admin Tool or Admin > Settings > Capacity Management component. If no one acknowledged the alarm, this column is blank. |
Acknowledged by | The user name of the user who acknowledged the alarm. If no one acknowledged the alarm, this column is blank. If a staff assistance alarm was triggered or raised when the PatientTracking Portal® application was not open on any computer in the unit, and the administrator configured email addresses that should receive email notifications, then the email address to which the notification was sent appears. |
Notified By Email | Includes the email address of anyone outside of the staff's unit who requested notification of the Staff Assistance Alarm. |
To Select the Report Criteria:
On the Report Selection page, click the plus sign next to Cross-Application Reporting.
Under Cross-Application Reporting, click RTLS Alarms to display the Report Selection page for the report.
In the Campus list, select the campus for which you want to generate the report. Only campuses to which you have membership are available to select. The report will include information only about alarms that were triggered in this campus.
Select the following:
Date Time Range—Select the date and time range for the report.
Click the calendar icon next to the From box to select the beginning of the date range.
Click the calendar icon next to the To box to select the end of the date range.
In the box next to the From calendar, type the start time of the time range. In the box next to the To calendar, type the end time of the time range. For example, in the From box type 08:00 for 8 AM. In the To box, type 23:59 for 11:59 PM).
Example
If the report should include all alarms that were triggered between May 1, 2013 and May 15, 2013, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, then click the calendar icon next to the From list, click the arrows in the title bar of the calendar until May 2013 appears, then in the calendar, click 1. Then, click the calendar icon next to the To list, click the arrows in the title bar of the calendar until May 2013 appears, then in the calendar, click 15. In the time format used at your campus, type the time range in the boxes next to the calendars (for example, 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM or 0800 and 1700. Only alarms that were triggered between these times on the dates that are include in the date range will appear on the report.
Alarm Type—Select which type of alarm you would like to see data for Patient Walkout, Patient Isolated Location, or Staff Assistance).
Unit—Select the units that should be included on the report. Click the magnifying glass next to the Units box to display a list of units in the campus that you selected. Select the check boxes for the units that should be included on the report, and then click Select to save the selection and return to the Units box. To return to having all units in the campus included on the report, click the restore icon next to the Units box. If you do not select any units, all units associated with the selected campus will be included.
Staff—If Staff Assistance Alarm was selected in the Alarm Type list, to see the alarms triggered by specific staff members, select the staff member's names. The selected staff members' names and staff types (such as Transporter, Physician, or Nurse) will appear on the report with information about the alarms they triggered when requesting assistance. Click the magnifying glass icon to display the Search Staff dialog box. In the User Attribute list, select First Name or Last Name. In the Filter String box, type part of the staff member's first name or last name (depending on your selection in the User Attribute list). Click Go to display a list of staff members. In the list that appears, select the check box for the staff member who should be included in the report. If the list spans multiple pages, click the numbers or arrows to move to a different page, and then select the check box. Click Selected Staff. To return to having all staff members in the campus included on the report, click the restore icon next to the Staff box. If you do not select any staff members, all staff members associated with the selected campus will be included. If you click the magnifying glass again after you have selected staff members, the previously selected names will be removed.
Patient—If Patient Walkout Alarm or Patient Isolation Alarm was selected in the Alarm Type list, to see the alarms that were triggered by specific patients, select the patients' name. (Patients who were in VisitCancelled or Discharged status during the selected date range are excluded.) The selected patients' names, medical record numbers, and visit numbers will appear on the report with information about when the alarm was triggered, the unit and location where it was triggered, which staff member acknowledged the alarm, and when. Click the magnifying glass icon to display the Search Patients dialog box. In the Patient Attribute list, select Visit Number, Medical Record Number, First Name or Last Name. In the Filter String box, type part of the patient's medical record number, visit#, first name, or last name (depending on your selection in the Patient Attribute list). Click Go to display a list of patients. In the list that appears, select the check box for the patient who should be included in the report. If the list spans multiple pages, click the numbers or arrows to move to a different page, and then select the check box. Click Selected Patient. To return to having all patients in the campus included on the report, click the restore icon next to the Patient box. If you do not select any patients, all patients associated with the selected campus will be included. If you click the magnifying glass again after you have selected patients, the previously selected names will be removed.
Group by—For the Staff Assistance alarm type, you can group data by unit or staff. For the Patient Walkout or Patient Isolated Location alarm type, you can group data by unit or patient. Select whether the data will be grouped by unit or by patient/staff. If grouped by unit, then each unit will appear with data about the alarms under it. If grouped by patient, then each patient name will appear with data about the alarms under it. If grouped by staff, then each staff member name will appear with data about the alarms under it.
To Select the Output Type and Run the Report:
In the Output list, select one of the following formats for the report:
Adobe Acrobat—To generate the report as a .pdf file. (This format is selected by default.)
Microsoft Excel—To generate the report as an .xls file that can be opened in Microsoft Excel.
Microsoft Excel (Unformatted) (for Hand Hygiene Index Only)—The Microsoft Excel (Unformatted) report output option produces an .xls file that is suitable for performing your own calculations and analysis. Data will appear in simple rows and columns and will not be totaled, grouped, or summarized.
Click Run Report.
If a security message appears at the top of the page, right-click the message bar, and then select Download File.
When you are prompted to save or open the report, do one of the following:
To save the report on a network drive or hard drive, click Save. When the Save As dialog box appears, select a location to save the report to, and then click Save.
To open the report immediately in the appropriate program, click Open.