Designing for Safety: the Importance of the Physical Space

Surgical adverse events have been linked to flow interruptions in the normal progression of the surgical procedure. Human factors engineering principles have been used to study the effects of the operating room environment on the performance of surgical team members. Flow disruptions can be caused by factors related to operating design, size, and layout, i.e., cluttered workspaces and inefficient personnel movements. Other causes of flow disruptions include distractions caused by traffic in the operating room and equipment failure. Continued research is needed to develop processes and procedures to minimize adverse events related to flow disruption.