Is This Visit Interrupting Something More Important?

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Ambulatory clinicians face frequent interruptions across portals, secure messaging, fax, mail, and in-person requests, but US outpatient interruption rates have not been studied in the past decade.
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Interruptions increase physicians’ cognitive load, reduce efficiency, and contribute to clinical errors, while fragmented attention can undermine patients’ care experiences and trust.
3

Frontline staff act as communication gatekeepers without standardized guidance, a mismatch that raises stress, error risk, job dissatisfaction, and burnout.
4

Ambient artificial intelligence may reduce documentation burden and task switching, allowing clinicians to focus more attention on patients during visits.
5

Protected periods for asynchronous work and system-wide communication rules can reduce visit interruptions while preserving quality measures and patient satisfaction.

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