The Dos and Don'ts of Telemetry Monitoring: A Telemetry Director's Top 10 Misuses, Explained

The American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines, which are based on expert opinion, recommend telemetry monitoring for active cardiac conditions.1 The Choosing Wisely campaign has adopted these guidelines to optimize telemetry use outside the intensive care unit (ICU), because inappropriate use can affect patient care adversely and increases costs. However, we have little evidence to guide us about which patients actually need such monitoring or for how long. Doctors often make these decisions based on personal preferences and request telemetry for low-risk patients who do not benefit.2

In 2000, Grady Memorial Hospital — a large public teaching hospital — created the Telemetry Urgent Matters Initiative to establish criteria (in conjunction w…