Medical Human Factors Research Aims To Improve Patient Safety, Quality of Care

Researcher Tara Cohen spent hundreds of hours in emergency and operating rooms over the past two years, observing doctors, nurses and other medical staff. The ultimate goal: To improve patient safety and quality of care by identifying workflow disruptions. Cohen, who received her Ph.D. in Human Factors in May, says the key to accurately collecting data on workflow disruptions was to stay out of the sterile area, but to keep a close eye on doctors, nurses and support staff. Now a research scientist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Cohen’s work documents the variety of distractions that can pull the attention of doctors and nurses away from their patients. Read the full article here: http://news.erau.edu/headlines/closing-threat-windows/