Table 4.
Characteristics of workflow interruption.
| Characteristic | N |
|---|---|
| Category of interruptions N (%) | |
| Interruption by patients or their relatives | 221 (69) |
| Interruption by colleagues | 28 (8.8) |
| Interruption by phone | 45 (14) |
| Interruption by equipment/system/network failure | 15 (4.7) |
| Interruption by others | 11 (3.5) |
| Task being interrupted N (rates per hour) | |
| Asking health history | 150 (19.95) |
| Explaining procedures | 13 (5.23) |
| Diagnosing and explaining health conditions | 57 (8.74) |
| Giving medication precaution and health guidance | 23 (12.59) |
| Other patient-physician communication | 3 (2.92) |
| Physical examination | 10 (14.33) |
| Documentation | 64 (6.47) |
| Contacting outside | 0 |
| Length of interruption N (%) | |
| <1 min | 288 (90) |
| 1–5 min | 31 (9.6) |
| >5 min | 1 (0.4) |
N = 320, number of interruptions.