(Communication between health professionals - Human factors engineering can help make sense of the chaos)

In a linked editorial in this week's BMJ, Gosbee argues that a human factors engineering (cognitive ergonomics) approach is necessary for solving the chaos he believes current healthcare communication systems to be in. He suggests that healthcare professionals have a lot to learn from other disciplines about how to design, evaluate, select and set up efficient communication infrastructures. Gosbee states that poor communication is not only a waste of time, it can threaten patient care and is the chief culprit behind errors in clinical practice, which can lead to injury and even death. He argues that healthcare professionals should push for more research and development that pays attention to human factors engineering.

Contact:

John Gosbee, Director, Center for Applied Medical Informatics, Michigan State University, Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, 1000 Oakland Drive, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA [email protected]