Annals for Hospitalists Inpatient Notes - Human Factors Engineering and Inpatient Care—New Ways to Solve Old Problems
Authors: Lauren Clack, Hugo Sax
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2017)

Web Exclusives18 April 2017Annals for Hospitalists Inpatient Notes - Human Factors Engineering and Inpatient Care—New Ways to Solve Old ProblemsLauren Clack, MSc and Hugo Sax, MDLauren Clack, MScFrom University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandSearch for more papers by this author and Hugo Sax, MDFrom University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M17-0544 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Drawing on psychology and engineering, human factors engineering (HFE) is a scientific discipline that applies knowledge about human strengths and weaknesses to optimize interactions with the environment. The goal of HFE is to maximize overall work system productivity and human well-being. When applied to health care, the aim is to ensure safe, effective, and efficient patient care—goals that align with the mission of hospitalists.A major underlying principle of HFE is that structure shapes behavior. Just as water always flows through the path of least resistance, health care providers' decisions are influenced by the structure of their practice environment. Even ...References1. Norman DA. The design of everyday things: Revised and expanded edition. New York: Basic Books; 2013. Google Scholar2. Meddings J, Rogers MA, Macy M, Saint S. Systematic review and meta-analysis: reminder systems to reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections and urinary catheter use in hospitalized patients. Clin Infect Dis. 2010;51:550-60. [PMID: 20673003] doi:10.1086/655133 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Gurses AP, Seidl KL, Vaidya V, Bochicchio G, Harris AD, Hebden J, et al. Systems ambiguity and guideline compliance: a qualitative study of how intensive care units follow evidence-based guidelines to reduce healthcare-associated infections. Qual Saf Health Care. 2008;17:351-9. [PMID: 18842974] doi:10.1136/qshc.2006.021709 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Endsley MR. Measurement of situation awareness in dynamic systems. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. 1995;37:65-84. CrossrefGoogle Scholar5. Sax H, Clack L. Mental models: a basic concept for human factors design in infection prevention. J Hosp Infect. 2015;89:335-9. [PMID: 25676111] doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2014.12.008 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandDisclosures: Drs. Sax and Clack report grants from Swiss National Science Foundation outside the submitted work. Disclosures can also be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M17-0544.Requests for Single Reprints: Hugo Sax, MD, Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland; e-mail, hugo.[email protected]ch. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAnnals for Hospitalists - 18 April 2017 David H. Wesorick and Vineet Chopra Metrics Cited byReduced admission rates and resource utilization for chest pain patients using an electronic health record‐embedded clinical pathway in the emergency departmentSegurança do paciente na formação dos profissionais de saúdePreventing healthcare-associated infections through human factors engineering“First-person view” of pathogen transmission and hand hygiene – use of a new head-mounted video capture and coding tool 18 April 2017Volume 166, Issue 8Page: HO2-HO3KeywordsBehaviorCathetersDisclosureHealth careHospitalistsHygieneInpatientsPsychologySafety ePublished: 18 April 2017 Issue Published: 18 April 2017 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2017 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...