. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Jun 3.

Published in final edited form as: Int J Med Inform. 2008 Nov 8;79(6):e109–e115. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2008.08.007

Table 2.

A role-based taxonomy of interruption

Initiator Role	Recipient Role

Initiator - a person who initiates an interruption	Intended Recipient - the person to be interrupted
	Indirect Recipient – the incidental recipient of an interruption; i.e., talking with another in conversation when the intended recipient suspends the original activity
	Unintended Recipient - not the intended recipient of an interruption; i.e., receiving a phone call that was incorrectly dialed
Initiator Blocked - the initiator is blocked from initiating an interruption	Recipient Blocked - the intended recipient does not accept the interruption
Initiator Delayed - the initiator is delayed in initiating an interruption	Recipient Delayed - the intended recipient postpones an interruption