Loosely formed patient care teams: communication challenges and technology design

We conducted an observational study to investigate nurses' communication behaviors in an Emergency Department (ED). Our observations reveal unique collaboration practices exercised by ED staff, which we term as "loosely formed team collaboration." Specifically, ED patient care teams are dynamically and quickly assembled upon patient arrival, wherein team members engage in interdependent and complex care activities. The responsible care team then disassembles when a patient leaves the ED. The coordination mechanism required for these work practices challenges nurses' communication processes, often increasing breakdown susceptibility. Our analysis of the ED nurses' communication behaviors and use of communication channels highlights the importance of maintaining team awareness and supporting role-based communication. This points to the need for explicit efforts to coordinate tasks and informative interruptions. These findings call for the design of future communication technologies to meet the needs of loosely formed collaborative environments to provide team-based communication, lightweight feedback, and information transparency.