Distractions During Patient Handoff: The Application-Based Messaging Volume on General Surgery Interns

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Surgical Education
• Hospital Communication Systems

Background:

• Mobile phone-based paging systems are prevalent in hospitals.
• Surgical interns experience a significant communication burden via these systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify and evaluate the paging burden on surgical interns.
• To identify patterns and critical times of high message volume.
• To inform targeted improvements in hospital communication.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of mobile paging system data (Halo Health) from July to September 2019.
• Analysis of messages received and sent by general surgery postgraduate year 1 residents.
• Comparison of message volume during day vs. night shifts and identification of high-volume intervals.

Main Results:

• General surgery postgraduate year 1 residents received an average of 48 pages per shift and 8 pages off-duty.
• Night shifts had significantly higher message volume (80 vs. 38 pages) and more high-volume shifts (30% vs. 11%).
• The highest message volume occurred during patient handoff (1700-1900 hours), with most messages sent by nursing staff (55.8%).

Conclusions:

• Postgraduate year 1 residents face a substantial paging load through mobile applications.
• High message volumes are concentrated during night shifts, patient handoffs, and off-duty periods.
• Targeted education and interventions, particularly for nursing staff, may reduce paging burden during critical times.