Interruptions are prevalent phenomena in modern working environments; yet, few interruption studies have been conducted on different types of human tasks. A study using computer-based human behavior tasks was carried out to investigate the effects of interruptions with 4 different primary-interrupting task sets. The tasks used in this study were determined by cognitive and motor skill processes based on human behavior classification theory. The results showed that interruption effects were most negative in cognitive/cognitive task sets, and skill/cognitive task sets showed the least amount of effects in task completion time, F(3, 332) = 77.88, p < .001. In error rate performance, skill/skill task sets showed the highest rate, and error rates for cognitive primary task sets (cognitive/cognitive and cognitive/skill task sets) were not significantly different, F(1, 42) = 41.18, p < .001; F(1, 42) = 3.56, p = 0.0661. Interruption frequency also negatively affected task performance, F(1, 412) = 89.88, p < .001, but skill tasks' quantitative performance did not show significant effects at different interruption frequencies, F(1, 187) = 3.78, p = .0534. The results showed that interruptions increase more time to complete in cognitive tasks and produce more errors in skill tasks. Also, similar types of primary-interrupting tasks were more susceptible from interruptions. Thus, based on task composition of work process, we can estimate different effects from the interruptions and memory load, and task similarity in primary-interrupting task relationship were considered a main factor. C 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Healthcare information systems (e.g., Bar Code Medication Administration [BCMA] system) have been adopted to deliver efficient healthcare services recently. However, though it is seemingly simple to use (scanning barcodes before medication), users of the BCMA system (e.g., nurses and pharmacists) often show noncompliance behaviors. Therefore, the goal of this study is to comprehensively understand why such noncompliance behaviors occur with BCMA system. Through comprehensive literature review, 128 instances of causes were identified, which were categorized into five categories: Poor Visual and Audio Interface, Poor Physical Ergonomic Design, Poor Information Integrity, Abnormal Situation for System Use, and User Reluctance and Negligence. The results show that successful use of a BCMA system requires supportive systems and environments, so it is more like an issue of the system rather than that of an individual user or a device. It is believed that the proposed categories could be applicable in investigating noncompliance behaviors in other healthcare information systems as well.

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Health care information technology (IT) systems manage administrative and clinical processes more accurately and efficiently. However, their effects on clinical work flow are still not fully understood. In this article, we investigate the bar‐coded medication administration (BCMA) system for its effect on nurses working in inpatient departments. Evaluation is applied by examining work deficiencies before and after the IT system implementation based on a proposed nursing work model. A list of nurse‐perceived risks of work deficiencies related to the current BCMA system has been identified. Results show five main deficiencies that are mainly related to aspects of the IT environment and work schedule/process, including increased workload, IT systems downtime, unclear orders/task schedules, reduced time for patient‐care tasks, and redundant documentation. This study emphasizes the importance of understanding the reciprocal relationship between IT implementation and health care work system. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.