Effects of Health Care Provider Work Hours and Sleep Deprivation on Safety and Performance
The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient SafetyPublished 1 November 2007
Steven W. Lockley, Laura K. Barger, Najib Ayas, Jeffrey M. Rothschild, Charles A. Czeisler, Christopher P. Landrigan
Citations381
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TL;DR
To reduce the unacceptably high rate of preventable fatigue-related medical error and injuries among health care workers, the United States must establish and enforce safe work-hour limits.
Abstract
The weight of evidence strongly suggests that extended-duration work shifts significantly increase fatigue and impair performance and safety. From the standpoint of both providers and patients, the hours routinely worked by health care providers in the United States are unsafe. To reduce the unacceptably high rate of preventable fatigue-related medical error and injuries among health care workers, the United States must establish and enforce safe work-hour limits.
Keywords
PsychologyMedicineHealth Professions
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