The emergency department (ED) has been shown to be an interrupt-driven workplace fraught with potential for distractions and interruptions that increase the potential for medical error. Accuracy of provider perception of these distractions and interruptions has yet to be investigated.

An observational two-phase study was conducted over a 9-week period in the highest acuity zone of the ED at an urban, academic medical center with about 90,000 visits/year. Phase I, conducted over the initial 5-weeek period, consisted of observers recording the type and frequency of all overhead pages in the ED. In phase II, conducted over the final 4-week period, direct observation of faculty and residents was done to record all individual interruptions for different levels of training. Actual data was compared to provider perceptions, as determined by survey responses.

2438 overhead pages were recorded and occurred, on average, 23.2 times per shift. The perceived rate of overhead pages was 43.2 per shift. 333 individual interruptions occurred, on average, 4.26 times per shift. The perceived rate was 53.5 per shift. Attending providers perceived a significantly higher number of individual interruptions compared to all resident providers.

The perceived amount and rate of distractions and interruptions are significantly higher than the actual amount and rate of distractions and interruptions. Attending physicians both perceive and experience more distractions and interruptions. Further work should be done to evaluate the power of provider perception, and the potential contribution of inaccurate perception to medical error and provider burnout.