Abstract
Medication selection and administration are high-risk settings in healthcare surgical services. We have completed a work analysis anchored in an ecological approach to design an anesthesia tray that improves efficiency and accuracy of medication selection, in an effort to design a standard tray that can serve operating rooms across Intermountain Health. Previous work by Shultz et al. (2010) utilized human factors principles from an information processing perspective to guide the redesign of an anesthesia medication drawer. This work provides an interesting opportunity to compare differences in the resulting designs of anesthesia trays wrought from an information processing approach and an ecological approach. Similarities between the tray layout designs include: grouping medications by function; placing frequently used medications at the front of the tray; placing medication groups in chronologic order of use; and isolating potent/hazardous medications to the back of the tray. Notable differences from each design include: use of color coding and patterns; vial/syringe orientation; and alignment of the tray with other parts of the anesthesiologist’s workspace. Differences between these approaches and the anesthesia trays they have produced are discussed.