Interruptions can adversely affect human performance, particularly in fast-paced and high-risk environments. Much of the research on interruptions has been laboratory based and the extension of these methods to real-world settings has been challenging and limited. This paper discusses the development and usage of a new tool, TaskTracker, to increase understanding of interruptions in the emergency department. With the data collected from this tool we identified several temporal groupings of interruptions, what we define as interruption clusters. We found significantly more clusters during self-initiated computer tasks. In this setting, we also observed the tendencies of assistants, technicians, students, and nurses to interrupt attending physicians in clusters. A deeper understanding of who engages in interruption clusters and why may provide insights for future systemic strategies that could facilitate better communication patterns.
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