The Impact of Workflow Interruptions on Multidisciplinary Team Communication in Hybrid Healthcare Settings
研究了混合医疗环境中多学科团队会议中自然出现的工作流程中断及其对团队沟通的影响，发现中断后负面言论和重复对话增多。
Workflow interruptions are skyrocketing in the contemporary workplace, especially in collaborative team environments. The reliance on (communication) technologies and accessibility through email and phone creates increasing avenues for frequent teamwork interruptions. In this study, we investigate in fourteen multidisciplinary team meetings in hybrid healthcare settings (1) which workflow interruptions naturally emerge and (2) how these interruptions influence the communicative processes within the team. We find evidence for an interruptive meeting environment, characterized by videoconferencing issues, disruptive beepers/phones that go off, and people leaving and entering the meeting room during patient discussions. Contrary to what was expected, team members initially respond to the interruption with positive statements (i.e., humor) as a coping mechanism, which decreases significantly in the minutes after the interruptive event. After the interruptive episode, significantly more negative statements, as well as conversational repetitiveness occurs. This research contributes to understanding naturally occurring workflow interruptions in actual organizational healthcare teams, by providing objective and fine-grained empirical insights into how workflow interruptions affect changes in the teams’ communication.