Improving care safety by characterizing task interruptions during interactions between healthcare professionals: an observational study.
Interruptions and distractions can diminish the quality and safety of care and lead to preventable medical errors. This observational study characterized interruptions affecting 23 care teams working in medical or surgical specialties across 17 sites in France. The researchers estimated that, on average, professionals were interrupted 10.5 times per hour, and that 57% of interruptions were avoidable.