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Interruptions to the physician-patient encounter: an intervention program.
R Peleg1, M Froimovici, A Peleg
1Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel. ayapeleg@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
The Israel Medical Association Journal : IMAJ
|September 9, 2000
Summary
Interruptions during patient-physician encounters remain a challenge. An intervention program in Dimona did not significantly reduce these disruptions, suggesting a potential cultural or systemic issue in primary care health systems.
Area of Science:
- Family Medicine
- Healthcare Management
- Patient Safety
Background:
- Physicians frequently experience interruptions during patient encounters.
- Limited research exists on interruptions in Israeli primary care settings.
- The phenomenon of patient-physician encounter interruptions is under-documented globally.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize interruptions in a Dimona clinic's patient-physician encounters.
- To evaluate an intervention program aimed at reducing these interruptions.
- To assess the impact of the intervention on encounter disruption rates.
Main Methods:
- Patient-physician encounters were recorded and analyzed over an 8-day period.
- An intervention program was designed and implemented to mitigate interruptions.
- Data collection was repeated one year post-intervention for comparison.
Main Results:
- Pre-intervention: 528 interruptions in 379 encounters (1.39/encounter).
- Primary causes: Uninvited patients (31%) and telephone calls (27%).
- Post-intervention: 402 interruptions in 355 encounters (1.13/encounter), not statistically significant (P=0.21).
Conclusions:
- The intervention program did not yield a statistically significant reduction in interruptions.
- Findings may indicate a local cultural factor or a broader national primary care system issue.
- Further research is recommended to understand interruption causes, consequences, and effective coping strategies.