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Time out! Is timepiece variability a factor in critical care?
Elizabeth A Ferguson1, Carey Roth Bayer, Susan Fronzeo
1The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Summary
Critical care timepieces are often inaccurate, with significant variations from coordinated universal time. Manual synchronization improves accuracy temporarily, but widespread feasibility remains uncertain.
Area of Science:
- Critical care medicine
- Medical instrumentation
- Timekeeping accuracy
Background:
- Accurate time documentation is crucial in critical care for treatments, research, and quality improvement.
- Variability in timekeeping can impact patient care and medicolegal documentation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the accuracy of timepieces used in critical care settings.
- To identify practical strategies for enhancing timepiece accuracy.
Main Methods:
- Surveyed healthcare providers on timepiece usage during routine and emergency care.
- Compared displayed times on unit and personal devices against coordinated universal time (UTC).
- Assessed accuracy and drift of atomic clocks and bedside monitors against UTC.
Main Results:
- Wall clocks and personal timepieces are frequently used in emergencies, showing median time differences from UTC of -4 and 0 minutes, respectively.
- Bedside monitors exhibited a median time difference of -2.5 minutes from UTC, with a 1-minute drift.
- Significant variations in accuracy were found across all timepiece types and among personal devices by discipline.
Conclusions:
- Timepieces in critical care settings demonstrate high variability and inaccuracy.
- Manual synchronization to UTC offers temporary accuracy improvements.
- The practical feasibility of synchronizing all critical care timepieces requires further investigation.