Rivera, A. Joy

This discussion panel will focus on solutions for mitigating the negative impact of interruptions in healthcare. Five human factors practitioners who work within healthcare systems will present solutions of mitigating the negative impact of interruptions on safety and quality with the acknowledgement that interruptions in and of themselves should not be viewed as purely negative (i.e. some interruptions are not only necessary but beneficial to patient care). Additionally, one panelist will focus on the difficulties in bridging the gap between research and practice in this arena. The session will lead to an interactive discussion about how human factors methods can be adapted and applied to identify and develop realistic, impactful solutions that improve safety by eliminating the negative impact of interruptions in applied healthcare settings.