Human Factors Engineering research and consulting approaches to improving reliability, quality, and patient safety in healthcare, emergency medicine, and emergency medical services.

Rollin J. (Terry) Fairbanks    [Bio]   [Publications]   [EPh Website]

Research Emphasis:

--Human Factors Engineering Approaches to Patient Safety in Healthcare
--Patient Safety Research in Emergency Medical Services and Emergency Medicine
--Usability Research in Medical Devices and Health Information Technology

Recent Healthcare and Human Factors Presentations

EMS Today 2009, Baltimore: March 26, 2009.  Handouts: Cutting Edge Approaches to Patient Safety [800kb pdf] Adverse Events Case Analyses [600kb pdf]; Other session handouts can be found here.

Links: Medicinal Human Factors Engineering (HFE) and ergonomics in Healthcare

Research Collaborators and Partners

Usability Associates
University of Rochester Department of Emergency Medicine
University of Rochester Emergency Pharmacist Research
University of Florida Jacksonville Department of Emergency Medicine
University of Buffalo Human Factors Engineering Program
University of Buffalo Healthcare Research
University of Pittsburgh - EMSARN
Monroe-Livingston Regional EMS Council
Rochester RHIO
Helmet Fire Human Factors Consulting
 

Research Funding Partners (past and present)

National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and BioEngineering (NIBIB)
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
Emergency Medicine Patient Safety Foundation (EMPSF)
Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM)
Ronald McDonald House Children’s Charities of Rochester
Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF)
Rand Corporation
ASHP Research Foundation
HITEC
 

Other Human Factors Engineering Links Related to Healthcare and Emergency Medicine

FDA's CDRH [video] describes integration of HFE into medical device design to reduce use error
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
Red Forest Consulting
Cognitive Technologies Laboratory, University of Chicago
AHRQ PSNet
VA National Center for Patient Safety
University of Wisconsin System Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety
FDA Human Factors Program
Bad Human Factors Designs
Nielsen's Usability Heuristics
Health Information Technology Failures^new!
Usability Toolkit
University of Texas Human Factors Research Project
University of Maryland Human Factors Research Program
Virginia Tech Human Factors Engineering

Recommended Medical Human Factors and Patient Safety Courses

U. Wisconsin Madison: SEIPS Short Course on Human Factors Engineering & Patient Safety (August)
Mayo Clinic "Applying Human Factors in Health Care" (October)
HRET Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship (Annual)
Red Forest Consulting: Innovation & Managing Risk with Medical Devices (October)

Upcoming Human Factors-Related Conferences

3rd Int. Conf. on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics, Miami, July 19-22, 2010 [link] [500kb pdf] 
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 52rd Annual Meeting, San Antonio, October 19-23, 2009 [link]

EMS Patient Safety

The EMS Agency Research Network for Quality & Safety Improvement (EMSARN)
Helmet Fire Feedback Loop & Event Reporting System
MEPARS EMS Error Reporting System- now defunct
EMS Close Calls.com
EMS Provider Crash Safety

Recent Healthcare/Patient Safety/Human Factors Publications [Click here for All Publications]

Wang HE, Weaver MD, Abo BN, Kaliappan R, Fairbanks RJ. Ambulance Stretcher Adverse Events. Quality and Safety in Health Care Jun 2009;18(3):213-6.^new

Fairbanks RJ. Don’t be a Minimizer: Avoiding the Trap of Underestimating Signs and Symptoms. Journal of Emergency Medical Services. March 2009; 34(3):100-102.

Szczesiul JM, Fairbanks RJ, Hildebrand JM, Hays DP, Shah, MN. Survey of Physicians Regarding Clinical Pharmacy Services in Academic Emergency Departments. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Mar 2009; 66:576-9.

Fairbanks RJ, Perry SJ, Venturino M, and Zwemer FL. Radiology in the Emergency Department:  Patient Safety Issues with Digital Imaging (Book Chapter). Patient Safety in Emergency Medicine.  Croskerry, Cosby, Schenkel, and Wears, (Eds). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (2009).

Fairbanks RJ and Gellatly AW. Human Factors Engineering and Safe Systems (Book Chapter). Patient Safety in Emergency Medicine.  Croskerry, Cosby, Schenkel, and Wears, (Eds). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (2009).

Fairbanks RJ, Crittenden CN, O’Gara KG, Wilson MA, Pennington EC, Chin NP, Shah MN. EMS Provider Perceptions of the Nature of Adverse Events and Near Misses in Out-of-Hospital Care: An Ethnographic View. Academic Emergency Medicine July 2008; 15(7):633–640.

Fairbanks RJ and Wears RL. Hazards With Medical Devices: the Role of Design (editorial). Annals of Emergency Medicine Nov 2008; 52(5): 519-521.