Bed Exit Alarms

How they work

A bed exit alarm is a load-cell sensor in the mattress or frame that fires when the patient's weight shifts toward the edge. Modern smart beds expose three tiers:

1. Position out of alignment — patient sitting up or edge-of-bed.
2. Weight shift — heading toward exit.
3. Bed exited — no patient weight detected.

Sensitivity and integration

Set too sensitive, the alarm fires constantly and gets disabled. Set too conservative, the alarm fires after the patient is up. The right setting depends on the patient and should be revisited each shift. Integration into nurse-call routing — so the assigned nurse's phone rings, not an overhead chime — is what turns the alarm into a response.

What the evidence says

Systematic reviews (Cochrane, 2012; Shorr et al., 2012) find bed alarms alone do not reduce falls when layered onto standard care. Programs that pair alarms with hourly rounding, toileting schedules, and a fall-risk care plan show larger effects.