Getting to grips with human factors

The Clinical Human Factors Group (CHFG) has published a new resource for implementing human factors in healthcare organizations: Getting to grips with human factors – strategic actions for safer care

The Ergonomist has published its 12 steps to safety

 # 12, Strategy: Each anesthetic department should have a human factors lead with an appropriate level of training.

The Ergonomist - 12 steps to safety

Technology vs. 911

 ‘My Watch Thinks I’m Dead’

Technology vs. 911 - a modern false alarm attack

Richard I. Cook: A Life in Many Acts

 Richard Cook left us on 31 August 2022.

We were very fortunate to know Richard and we are thankful for how he impacted our lives and our community. He was a lovely man in every sense. 

Learn more about Dr. Cook and his work. 

The Resilience Engineering Association dedicated their December issue to the life and work of Richard I. Cook. Six interesting perspectives from colleagues and friends of Richard's.

"Human error" - the case of road safety.

"Human error" - the case of road safety. 

... the “critical reason” for a crash is not the same as the “cause”. 

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/11/deadly-myth-human-error-causes-most-car-crashes/620808/

Fully autonomous systems and fallback to human control

When you design your fully autonomous systems it is important to have a good plan for how the system will fallback to human control when needed. See what happened to this driverless Waymo.

Photo from Wikimedia

human error vs. design error

Yet another example of a manufacturer that points to human error to justify design errors.
"How Boeing’s Responsibility in a Deadly Crash ‘Got Buried’" from The New York Times.

Credit: commons.wikimedia.org

The Value of Double checking Medications

A 2019 systematic review by Dr Alain K Koyama and colleagues that was published at the BMJ Quality and Safety reviles that there is insufficient evidence that double versus single checking of medication administration reduce harm.

Standardization assist in shortening response time during emergencies

There is one thing that always assist in shortening response time during emergencies - standardization. Here is how international standardization of in-hospital-emergency-number can help. 

Google Maps Leads About 100 Drivers Into A 'Muddy Mess' In Colorado

Many of us use car navigation systems these days, and we developed some trust working with these systems over time.
Here is what can happen when we have too much trust - Google Maps Leads About 100 Drivers Into A 'Muddy Mess' In Colorado.
Now imagine how this type of incident would develop in the world of automation in healthcare.

Learning from Autopilot Problems

What can the healthcare industry learn from the risks introduced by the rise of increasingly automated airplanes?

It's all about communication

How one doctor is changing patient safety around the world by improving communication in the operating theater.

Willing to let others know you're human to improve #patientsafety?https://t.co/oCHmeUgExn #knowyourhuman pic.twitter.com/1bpSy2m91E

— Rob Hackett (@patientsafe3) December 4, 2017

Monitor Alarm are still in the ECRI Institute top 10 health technology hazards

The ECRI Institute published its 2019 top 10 health technology hazards, and physiologic monitor alarm are still on this list.

The ECRI published its top 10 patient safety concerns for 2017

The ECRI published its top 10 patient safety concerns for 2017.
Although it is not mentioned in this report, human factors tools and methods can improve most of these patient safety concerns.

Automation is identified as one of the top 10 health technology hazards for the first time

The ECRI Institute have published its Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2017, and Automation is identified as one of the top 10 technology hazards for the first time.