Distractions and their impact on patient safety
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Pennsylvania patient safety advisory
- Contributor(s):
- Feil, Michelle. Pennsylvania. Patient Safety Authority. ECRI (Organization) Institute for Safe Medication Practices.
- Publication:
- [Harrisburg, Pa.] : Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, c2013
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Attention Disclosure Medical Errors -- prevention & control Medication Errors -- prevention & control Patient safety Safety Management -- organization & administration Humans United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Distraction is a common source of potential error that is well established within the fields of human factors research and cognitive psychology. High levels of distraction in healthcare settings pose a constant threat to patient safety. New technologies have increased the number and types of distractions present in these settings. Analysis of reports submitted to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority in 2010 and 2011 containing relevant terms, namely "distract," "interrupt," or "forgot," identified 1,015 reports that could be attributed to distraction. The majority of events were classified as medication errors (59.6%), followed by errors related to procedures, treatments, or tests (27.8%). Thirteen events were reported that resulted in patient harm. A total of 40 reports specifically mention distractions from phones, computers, or other technologic devices contributing to errors. This article examines the broader issue of distractions that cause medical errors and outlines strategies for decreasing the potential for distraction and harm. These risk reduction strategies include developing systems and processes that reduce or eliminate distractions and teaching effective techniques for handling distractions.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-ND license. (More information)
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101603556 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101603556