Computer usage and task-switching during resident's working day: Disruptive or not?

Area of Science:

• Medical informatics
• Healthcare management
• Resident education

Background:

• Electronic health records (EHR) implementation has significantly altered medical ward organization.
• Internal medicine residents dedicate approximately half their working hours to EHR systems.
• The impact of computer usage on resident workflow and task-switching remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the frequency of task-switches during internal medicine residents' workdays.
• To determine if computer usage is associated with task-switching frequency.

Main Methods:

• A time-motion study was conducted at a Swiss academic university hospital from May to July 2015.
• 36 internal medicine residents' workdays were observed, totaling 697 working hours.
• Data collected included task-switching frequency and computer usage duration.

Main Results:

• Residents averaged 15 task-switches per hour, with peaks during morning and late afternoon.
• Computer usage, averaging 5.4 hours during day shifts, was associated with decreased overall task-switching.
• No significant association was found between task-switching frequency and resident characteristics or extra work hours.

Conclusions:

• Internal medicine residents experience frequent task-switching throughout their workday.
• Contrary to potential assumptions, computer usage was linked to a reduction in task-switching.
• Further research is needed to evaluate the effects of frequent task-switching and computer use on patient care quality and resident well-being.