Many hospitals and healthcare systems have started monitoring patient telemetry remotely. This can influence a Monitor Technician’s (MT) work by increasing the number of patients they have to observe. MTs also work long 12-hour shifts, while needing to be attentive to their monitoring tasks. This has resulted in changes in the work process, expectations, and workloads. These changes can negatively influence patient care as the high workload and performance expectations exceed human capabilities.
The Human Factors team worked with MTs at Carilion Clinic’s Virtual Care Operations (VCOps) to build a simulation setup that mirrors an MTs work. This allows us to capture data such as the time on task, error rate, and performance reduction.
Our study will help create realistic expectations of MTs by creating standards for telemetry monitoring systems. It will also help MTs perform their tasks efficiently, reduce the risk of errors, and most importantly improve patient safety.