Distracted Doctoring

It appears that medical professionals are being distracted on the job by the available variety of 21st Century electronic gizmos.

In a 2010 peer-reviewed survey of 439 medical practitioners involved in performing cardiopulmonary bypasses, more than 50 percent admit to using a cell phone during the procedure.

Nearly half acknowledged sending text messages, and nearly a quarter of the respondents reported accessing email or the internet while performing cardiopulmonary bypass surgeries.

The distractions are not contained to bypass surgery rooms. In fact, electronic distraction extends into other operating and treatment rooms leaving patients in jeopardy of surgical mistakes that could lead (to) serious injury or even death while those that are "caring" for them are busy with other tasks such as:

- Entering logs on separate cases
- Studying textbooks for class
- Checking airline prices
- Updating social media statuses
- Texting or talking on cell phones
- Making online purchases

Can we soon expect a lawsuit because a doctor was texting his girlfriend while performing heart surgery?

I suggest, yes. After all, it's illegal to text, etc. while driving in an ever-increasing number of jurisdictions. Making it illegal to text while slicing open a patient's chest would seem to be a no-brainer.