Does size and location of the vital signs monitor matter? A study of two trauma centers

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1-1-2010

Journal

AMIA ... Annual Symposium proceedings / AMIA Symposium. AMIA Symposium

Volume

2010

Abstract

We report the results of an observational study in which we compared how the size and location of the vital signs monitor impact teamwork at two trauma centers. Our observations focused on three factors: information exchange, situational awareness, and ergonomic issues. We found that the smaller display was difficult to view and required more team communication and workarounds, such as periodic verbal reports. The larger and closer display, although accessible to more team members, did not uniformly improve team's situational awareness because vital signals were not verbalized and the monitor was often ignored. We suggest introducing multiple larger and closer displays, while keeping the practice of periodic verbal reporting.

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