title: Clinical cognition and biomedical informatics: Issues of patient safety.
abstract: Recent developments in biomedical informatics research have afforded possibilities for great advances in health care delivery. As in most domains, there is a gulf between technologic artifacts and end users, which compromises the culture of safety in the workplace. This necessitates a broadening of disciplinary boundaries to consider cognitive and social factors related to the design and use of technology. The authors argue for a place of prominence for cognitive science in understanding nursing factors associated with patient safety. Cognitive science provides a framework for the analysis and modeling of complex human performance. Studies of clinical cognition can meaningfully inform and shape design, development, and assessment of information systems. Furthermore, they have a decisive impact on whether information technology has a positive influence on human performance and are especially important in understanding and promoting safe practices. These issues are discussed in the context of clinical informatics with a focus on nursing practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Vimla L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Leanne M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Currie
mesh_terms: D019336:Cognitive Science; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control; D048108:Nursing Informatics; D017751:Safety Management; D014584:User-Computer Interface