Error Producing Conditions in the Intensive Care Unit

Up to 98,000 patients die annually in U.S. hospitals due to human error. One of the areas where error occurs frequently is the Intensive Care Unit. Despite the impact of error, there is very little work that attempts to identify the human factors contributors to error in the ICU. The current study used the framework of error producing conditions to identify factors that are contributing to error. By modifying the method of assessing error producing conditions we were able to identify the extent to which individual conditions contribute to the prevalence of error. Also, we were able to identify the contribution certain devices have in the prevalence of error. Most importantly, the most critical devices for patient care were also identified as the ones that were rated the highest in their prevalence of error producing conditions and potential for hazard. Thus, developing medical devices that are reducing the device related potential for patient harm has to be a main goal for future patient safety work. This is a challenge sound human factors engineering should answer.