The effects of bleeps on medical on-call doctors’ workflow and work efficiency

Abstract

While bleeps are a reliable and rapid method of communication, frequent bleeps cause interruption in patient care and disruption to workflow for the receiver.1,2 Furthermore, clinicians sending a bleep can wait an average of 9.35 minutes for a reply,3 representing significant inefficiency. Local feedback from junior doctors reflects the above. This project describes the volume of bleeps received by out-of-hours medical doctors within our hospital and the reasons they are sent. Understanding current activity will support planning for effective and efficient communication in future. Switchboard data was inspected to identify the frequency and timing of bleeps sent to doctors on-call covering medical wards …