Richard I. Cook

Adapting to new technology in the operating room.

The effects of new technology on human performance in domains such as anesthesiology, commercial aviation, and nuclear power operations remain controversial. To study the impact of new technology on skilled practitioner performance, we observed the introduction of a new, highly integrated, microprocessor-based physiological monitoring system for use in cardiac anesthesia. The new computer system differed from its predecessors in method of display, human interface, level of integration, and automation of functions. A process-tracing technique was used to examine physician-computer interaction in the context of 22 anesthesia procedures for cardiothoracic surgery, most of which involved cardiopulmonary bypass. Practitioners experienced a series of problems with the new computer system. Computer system characteristics relative to the specific context of cardiac surgery created new cognitive and physical burdens that tended to congregate at times of high demand, the characteristic feature of clumsy automation. Practitioners as individuals and as a group tried to overcome these problems by adapting the computer system (system tailoring) and their behavior (task tailoring) as they learned about the interaction between characteristics of the new system and characteristics of their field of practice.

Nine Steps to Move Forward from Error

Abstract: Following celebrated failures stakeholders begin to ask questions about how to improve the systems and processes they operate, manage or depend on. In this process it is easy to become stuck on the label ‘human error’ as if it were an explanation for what happened and as if such a diagnosis specified steps to improve. To guide stakeholders when celebrated failure or other developments create windows of opportunity for change and investment, this paper draws on generalizations from the research base about how complex systems fail and about how people contribute to safety and risk to provide a set of Nine Steps forward for constructive responses. The Nine Steps forward are described and explained in the form of series of maxims and corollaries that summarize general patterns about error and expertise, complexity and learning.

BIS monitoring to prevent awareness during general anesthesia.

Background Unexpected awareness is a rare but well-described complication of general anesthesia that has received increased scientific and media attention in the past few years. Transformed electroencephalogram monitors, such as the Bispectral Index monitor, have been advocated as tools to prevent unexpected recall. Methods The authors conducted a power analysis to estimate how many patients would be needed in an appropriately powered study to demonstrate the Bispectral Index monitor reduces awareness, as well as a cost analysis to assess the cost of using the monitor for this purpose alone. Results If unexpected recall is rare (1 in 20,000), it will require a large study to demonstrate that the monitor reduces awareness (200,000–800,000 patients), and the cost of using it for this purpose alone would be high (

Differences between handwritten and automatic blood pressure records.

400,000 per case prevented). If awareness is common (1 in 100), then the number of patients needed in a study to demonstrate that the monitor works becomes tractable (1,000–4,000 patients), and the cost of using the monitor for this purpose alone becomes lower (

Collaborative cross-checking to enhance resilience

2,000 per case prevented). Because there are reported cases of awareness despite Bispectral Index monitoring, the authors are certain that the effectiveness of the monitor is less than 100%. As the performance of the monitor decreases from 100%, the size of the study needed to demonstrate that it works increases, as does the cost of using it to prevent awareness. Conclusion The contention that Bispectral Index monitoring reduces the risk of awareness is unproven, and the cost of using it for this indication is currently unknown.

Discovering Healthcare Cognition: The Use of Cognitive Artifacts to Reveal Cognitive Work

Comparison of 46 handwritten and electromechanically generated blood pressure records revealed substantial differences between the recordings. The highest automated record pressures exceeded the highest pressures found in corresponding handwritten records. Similarly, the lowest pressures from automated records were lower than those from handwritten records. Seventeen records (37%) had at least three automatic blood pressure determinations with values substantially in excess of the most extreme values recorded by hand. No handwritten record contained a diastolic pressure above 110 mmHg. Discrepancies between handwritten and automatic records may arise from one or more causes. Among these are readings captured automatically but not observed by the anesthesiologist, faulty reconstruction of handwritten records from memory, and bias in favor of less controversial values.

The Messy Details: Insights From the Study of Technical Work in Healthcare

Resilience, the ability to adapt or absorb disturbance, disruption, and change, may be increased by team processes in a complex, socio-technical system. In particular, collaborative cross-checking is a strategy where at least two individuals or groups with different perspectives examine the others’ assumptions and/or actions to assess validity or accuracy. With this strategy, erroneous assessments or actions can be detected quickly enough to mitigate or eliminate negative consequences. In this paper, we seek to add to the understanding of the elements that are needed in effective cross-checking and the limitations of the strategy. We define collaborative cross-checking, describe in detail three healthcare incidents where collaborative cross-checks played a key role, and discuss the implications of emerging patterns.

Evaluating the human engineering of microprocessor-controlled operating room devices

Healthcare systems, especially hospital operating room suites, have properties that make them ideal for the study of the cognitive work using the naturalistic decision-making (NDM) approach. This variable, complex, high-tempo setting provides a unique opportunity to examine the ways that clinicians plan, monitor, and cope with the irreducible uncertainty that underlies this work domain. As frontline managers, anesthesia coordinators plan and manage anesthesia assignments for surgical procedures. As frontline managers, coordinators develop and use cognitive artifacts to distribute cognition across time and among members of the acute care staff. Examination of these cognitive artifacts and their use reveals the hidden subtleties of the coordinators’ work. The use of NDM methods including cognitive artifact analysis to understand cognitive work generates insights that extend beyond the operator level to the study of team-level cognition. Results can be used to create computer-based artifacts that aid individual and team cognition.

Automation, interaction, complexity, and failure: A case study

—The papers in this special issue demonstrate productive methods of coping with the messy details of technical work in healthcare. The studies demonstrate both how difficult it is to do in depth studies of healthcare technical work and also how rewarding such studies can be. They prompt us to look at technical work studies more generally and ask why they are so well suited to research on the human factors of a hyper-complex setting—healthcare.

Resilience is not control: healthcare, crisis management, and ICT

Although human engineering features are widely appreciated as a potential cause of operating room incidents, evaluating the human engineering features of devices is not widely understood. Standards, guidelines, laboratory and field testing, and engineering discipline are all proposed methods for improving the human engineering of devices. New microprocessor technology offers designers great flexibility in the design of devices, but this flexibility is often coupled with complexity and more elaborate user interaction. Guidelines and standards usually do not capture these features of new equipment, in part because technology improvements occur faster than meaningful guidelines can be developed. Professional human engineering of new devices relies on a broad, user-centered approach to design and evaluation. Used in the framework of current knowledge about human operator performance, these techniques offer guidance to new equipment designers and to purchasers and users of these devices.