Distracting Devices in Healthcare: Malpractice Implications August 8, 2018 TDC Risk Tip The Doctors Company, Distracting Devices in Healthcare 0 By: Shelley Rizzo, MSN, CPHRM, Patient Safety Risk Manager II, The Doctors Company Digital distraction in healthcare is emerging as a great threat to patient safety and physician well-being.1 This phenomenon involves the habitual use of personal electronic devices by healthcare providers for nonclinical purposes during appointments and procedures.2 Some call it “distracted doctoring.” But the threat might more aptly be called “distracted practice,” as it impacts all healthcare workers and staff. Personal electronic devices can create a digital distraction so engaging that it consumes awareness, potentially preventing healthcare providers from focusing on the primary task at hand—caring for and interacting with patients. And the consequences can be devastating. Distraction can be both a symptom of and a contributor to healthcare provider stress and burnout. As a symptom of burnout, digital distraction is a way to escape a stressful environment. As a contributor to burnout, digital distraction impedes human interaction because of the sheer volume of data demanding our attention. For most healthcare providers, distractions and interruptions are considered part of the job; it is the nature of their work. If we consider healthcare distraction on a continuum, on one end are distractions related to clinical care (e.g., answering team member questions or responding to surgical equipment alarms). On the other end of the continuum are distractions unrelated to clinical care (e.g., making personal phone calls, sending personal text messages, checking social media sites, playing games, or searching airline flights). From a litigation perspective, the distinction between distractions related to clinical care and those unrelated to clinical care is important. In a medical malpractice claim where there is an allegation that an adverse event was caused by distracted practice, a distraction caused by a clinical-care-related activity may be found to be within the standard of care and is, therefore, often defensible. But where it can be shown that the distraction was caused by non-patient matters, the plaintiff’s attorney will certainly use that against the defendant. In these situations, the defendant’s medical care may not even enter the equation, because during eDiscovery the metadata (i.e., cell phone records, scouring findings from hard drives) serves as the “expert witness.” Even if the defendant’s clinical care was within the standard, the fact that there are cell phone records indicating that the healthcare provider was surfing the Internet or checking personal e-mail may imply distraction and could potentially supersede all other evidence. Two new CME courses from The Doctors Company, How Healthcare Leaders Can Reduce Risks of Distracted Practice in Their Organization and The Risks of Distracted Practice in the Perioperative Area, address addiction to personal electronic devices and provide strategies that individuals and organizations can use to minimize the patient safety risks associated with distractions from these devices. Find these courses and explore our extensive catalog of complimentary CME and CE activities at http://www.thedoctors.com/patient-safety/education-and-cme/ondemand/. Distracted Doctoring: Returning to Patient-Centered Care in the Digital Age https://www.amazon.com/Distracted-Doctoring-Returning-Patient-Centered-Digital/dp/331948706X Treat, Don’t Tweet: The Dangerous Rise of Social Media in the Operating Room https://psmag.com/social-justice/treat-dont-tweet-dangerous-rise-social-media-operating-room-79061 Contributed by The Doctors Company. For more patient safety articles and practice tips, visit www.thedoctors.com/patientsafety. The guidelines suggested here are not rules, do not constitute legal advice, and do not ensure a successful outcome. The ultimate decision regarding the appropriateness of any treatment must be made by each healthcare provider in light of all circumstances prevailing in the individual situation and in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which the care is rendered. Comments are closed.