New research shows that there is a link between interruptions during medical procedures and a higher rate of clinical errors and procedural failures.

The study’s lead author  said that the more interruptions that a nurse receives while administering drugs to a patient, the greater risk that an error will occur. The team who did the study, observed 98 nurses in hospitals administer 4,271 medications and found that an interruption occurred in 53 percent of them.

Of the procedures that were interrupted, 74 percent of them had at least one procedural failure and 25 percent had a clinical error. Authors of the study noted that some interruptions are necessary such as monitoring alarms, only 11 percent of the studied interruptions were needed.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of medical negligence, contact the Springfield medical malpractice lawyers of Strong-Garner-Bauer by calling 417-887-4300.