The impact of interruptions on clinical task completion.

Johanna I. Westbrook; Enrico Coiera; William T M Dunsmuir; Bruce M. Brown; Norm Kelk; Richard Paoloni; Cuong Tran

Study

The impact of interruptions on clinical task completion.

September 24, 2016

Westbrook JI, Coiera E, Dunsmuir WTM, et al. Qual Saf Health Care. 2010;19(4):284-9.

View more articles from the same authors.

This study of emergency physicians found that interruptions while performing clinical tasks were common and often resulted in the task being delayed or not completed at all.

PubMed citation

Available at

Related Resources From the Same Author(s)

Association of interruptions with an increased risk and severity of medication administration errors.

September 26, 2016

Managing competing demands through task-switching and multitasking: a multi-setting observational study of 200 clinicians over 1000 hours.

February 26, 2014

Emergency physicians' views of direct notification of laboratory and radiology results to patients using the internet: a multisite survey.

March 25, 2015

The effect of computerized provider order entry systems on clinical care and work processes in emergency departments: a systematic review of the quantitative literature.

May 22, 2013

Effects of two commercial electronic prescribing systems on prescribing error rates in hospital in-patients: a before and after study.

February 15, 2012

Drug-drug interactions and actual harm to hospitalized patients: a multicentre study examining the prevalence pre- and post-electronic medication system implementation.

April 10, 2024

Patient groups, clinicians and healthcare professionals agree—all test results need to be seen, understood and followed up.

December 19, 2018

Health service accreditation as a predictor of clinical and organisational performance: a blinded, random, stratified study.

March 23, 2011

Unsafe care in residential settings for older adults. A content analysis of accreditation reports.

December 13, 2023

Failure to utilize functions of an electronic prescribing system and the subsequent generation of 'technically preventable' computerized alerts.

September 1, 2016

Related Resources

The impact of sensory stimuli on healthcare workers and outcomes in trauma rooms: a focus group study.

June 5, 2024

Does a unit shift report "blackout" period improve patient safety?

April 10, 2019

The multitasking clinician: decision-making and cognitive demand during and after team handoffs in emergency care.

September 28, 2016

Resident to resident handoffs in the emergency department: an observational study.

September 27, 2016

Critical phase distractions in anaesthesia and the sterile cockpit concept.

September 27, 2016

Association of interruptions with an increased risk and severity of medication administration errors.

September 26, 2016

Interruptions in the wild: development of a sociotechnical systems model of interruptions in the emergency department through a systematic review.

September 24, 2016

Interruptions in a level one trauma center: a case study.

September 24, 2016

WebM&M Cases

Looking for Meds in All the Wrong Places

October 1, 2012

WebM&M Cases

Caution, Interrupted

September 1, 2004

See More About The Topic

Emergency Departments

Quality and Safety Professionals

Emergency Medicine

Discontinuities, Gaps, and Hand-Off Problems

Interruptions and distractions

The impact of interruptions on clinical task completion.

Connect With Us

Sign up for Email Updates

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

The impact of interruptions on clinical task completion.

Connect With Us

Sign up for Email Updates

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Submit Your Innovations

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

Submit Your Innovations

Continue as a Guest

Continue logged in

New Users to the PSNet site

Submit Your Training

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

Submit Your Training

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

New Users to the PSNet site

Submit Your Toolkit

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

Submit Your Toolkit

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

New Users to the PSNet site

Submit Your WebM&M Case

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

Submit Your WebM&M Case

Continue as a Guest

Already have a PSNet

Account?

New Users