Why is it so difficult to measure the effects of interruptions in healthcare?

Document Type

Book chapter

Source Publication

MEDINFO 2010: Proceedings of the 13th World Congress on Medical Informatics

Publication Date

9-2010

First Page

784

Last Page

788

Publisher

IOS Press

Keywords

Interruption, Medical error, Safety, Efficiency, Evaluation studies, Observation, Computer simulation

Abstract

Interruptions are a complex phenomenon where multiple variables including the characteristics of primary tasks, the interruptions themselves, and the environment may influence patient safety and workflow outcomes. Observational studies present significant challenges for recording many of the process variables that influence the effects of interruptions. Controlled experiments provide an opportunity to examine the specific effects of variables on errors and efficiency. Computational models can be used to identify the situations in which interruptions to clinical tasks could be disruptive and to investigate the aggregate effects of interruptions.

DOI

10.3233/978-1-60750-588-4-784

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2010 IMIA and SAHIA. All rights reserved.

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Additional Information

ISBN of the source publication: 9781607505877

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Magrabi, F., Li, S. Y. W., Dunn, A. G., & Coiera E. (2010). Why is it so difficult to measure the effects of interruptions in healthcare? In C. Safran, S. Reti & H. F. Marin (Eds.), MEDINFO 2010: Proceedings of the 13th World Congress on Medical Informatics (pp.784-788). doi: 10.3233/978-1-60750-588-4-784

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