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Increased Patient Safety-Related Incidents Following the Transition into Daylight Savings Time.
J Gen Intern Med. 2021 01; 36(1):51-54.JG

Abstract

BACKGROUND

"Spring forward," the start of daylight savings time (DST), reduces sleep opportunity by an hour. Insufficient sleep in healthcare workers resulting from the spring forward time change could potentially result in an increase in medical errors.

OBJECTIVE

We examined the change in reported patient safety-related incidents (SRIs), in the week following the transition into and out of DST over a period of 8 years.

DESIGN

Observational study SETTING: A US-based large healthcare organization with sites across multiple states MEASUREMENTS: Voluntarily reported SRIs that occurred 7 days prior to and following the spring and fall time changes for years 2010-2017 were ascertained. SRIs likely resulting from human error were identified separately. The changes in the number of SRIs (either all SRIs or SRIs restricted to those likely resulting from human error) from the week before and after the time change (either spring or fall) were modeled using a negative binomial mixed model with a random effect to correct for non-independent observations in consecutive weeks.

RESULTS

Over the 8-year period, we observed 4.2% (95% CI: - 1.1 to 9.7%; p = 0.12) and 8.8% (95% CI: - 2.5 to 21.5%; p = 0.13) increases in overall SRIs in the 7 days following DST when compared with 7 days prior for spring and fall, respectively. By restricting to SRIs likely resulting from human errors, we observed 18.7% (95% CI: 5.6 to 33.6%; p = 0.004) and 4.9% (95% CI: - 1.3 to 11.5%; p = 0.12) increases for spring and fall, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Policy makers and healthcare organizations should evaluate delayed start of shifts or other contingency measures to mitigate the increased risk of SRIs during transition to DST in spring.

Links

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Kolla BP
Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA. kolla.bhanuprakash@mayo.edu. Center for Sleep Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA. kolla.bhanuprakash@mayo.edu.
Coombes BJ
Division of Bioinformatics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Morgenthaler TI
Center for Sleep Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA. Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Mansukhani MP
Center for Sleep Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.

MeSH

Circadian RhythmHumansPatient SafetySeasonsSleepSleep Deprivation

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

32789617

Citation

Kolla, Bhanu Prakash, et al. "Increased Patient Safety-Related Incidents Following the Transition Into Daylight Savings Time." Journal of General Internal Medicine, vol. 36, no. 1, 2021, pp. 51-54.
Kolla BP, Coombes BJ, Morgenthaler TI, et al. Increased Patient Safety-Related Incidents Following the Transition into Daylight Savings Time. J Gen Intern Med. 2021;36(1):51-54.
Kolla, B. P., Coombes, B. J., Morgenthaler, T. I., & Mansukhani, M. P. (2021). Increased Patient Safety-Related Incidents Following the Transition into Daylight Savings Time. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 36(1), 51-54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-020-06090-9
Kolla BP, et al. Increased Patient Safety-Related Incidents Following the Transition Into Daylight Savings Time. J Gen Intern Med. 2021;36(1):51-54. PubMed PMID: 32789617.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Increased Patient Safety-Related Incidents Following the Transition into Daylight Savings Time. AU - Kolla,Bhanu Prakash, AU - Coombes,Brandon J, AU - Morgenthaler,Timothy I, AU - Mansukhani,Meghna P, Y1 - 2020/08/12/ PY - 2020/03/26/received PY - 2020/07/29/accepted PY - 2020/8/14/pubmed PY - 2021/5/22/medline PY - 2020/8/14/entrez KW - medical error KW - patient safety KW - sleep deprivation KW - spring forward SP - 51 EP - 54 JF - Journal of general internal medicine JO - J Gen Intern Med VL - 36 IS - 1 N2 - BACKGROUND: "Spring forward," the start of daylight savings time (DST), reduces sleep opportunity by an hour. Insufficient sleep in healthcare workers resulting from the spring forward time change could potentially result in an increase in medical errors. OBJECTIVE: We examined the change in reported patient safety-related incidents (SRIs), in the week following the transition into and out of DST over a period of 8 years. DESIGN: Observational study SETTING: A US-based large healthcare organization with sites across multiple states MEASUREMENTS: Voluntarily reported SRIs that occurred 7 days prior to and following the spring and fall time changes for years 2010-2017 were ascertained. SRIs likely resulting from human error were identified separately. The changes in the number of SRIs (either all SRIs or SRIs restricted to those likely resulting from human error) from the week before and after the time change (either spring or fall) were modeled using a negative binomial mixed model with a random effect to correct for non-independent observations in consecutive weeks. RESULTS: Over the 8-year period, we observed 4.2% (95% CI: - 1.1 to 9.7%; p = 0.12) and 8.8% (95% CI: - 2.5 to 21.5%; p = 0.13) increases in overall SRIs in the 7 days following DST when compared with 7 days prior for spring and fall, respectively. By restricting to SRIs likely resulting from human errors, we observed 18.7% (95% CI: 5.6 to 33.6%; p = 0.004) and 4.9% (95% CI: - 1.3 to 11.5%; p = 0.12) increases for spring and fall, respectively. CONCLUSION: Policy makers and healthcare organizations should evaluate delayed start of shifts or other contingency measures to mitigate the increased risk of SRIs during transition to DST in spring. SN - 1525-1497 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/32789617/Increased_Patient_Safety_Related_Incidents_Following_the_Transition_into_Daylight_Savings_Time_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -