Automated Workflow Analysis and Tracking Using Radio Frequency Identification Technology

Abstract

The health care industry faces a number of challenges and arguably one of the most important ones lies in maintaining high levels of patient safety. A much-cited report released by the Institute of Medicine [1] estimates that as many as 98,000 people die each year due to medical errors [1]. The causal determinants of these errors can be traced to a variety of medical, cognitive and social challenges in the clinical workplace. These challenges are exacerbated in critical care environments that are characterized by distributed, interdependent, episodic and non-linear work activities. The dynamic nature of the care process in critical care environment affects the nature and timing of work activities of clinicians, and often increases the possibility of errors. Studying the work activities of clinicians in such environments can help in understanding the care delivery process, workflow, and interruptions that affect clinical work.

Portions of this chapter has appeared in (a) Vankipuram et al., Toward automated workflow analysis and visualization in clinical environments. Journal of Biomedical Informatics. 44(3): 432–440, with permissions from Elsevier; (b) Kannampallil et al., Making sense: sensor-based investigation of clinician activities in complex critical care environments, Journal of Biomedical Informatics. 44(3), 441–454, with permissions from Elsevier and (c) an article in the Proceedings of the 2009 Annual Symposium American Medical Informatics Association, Vankipuram et al., Visualization and analysis of activities in critical care environments.