Text messaging is one of the most common ways of communication in this era. People pick up their phones and send messages to each other on a regular basis. The concept of text messaging has made communicating with other simpler. It’s no longer necessary to call on the phone when a person can simply send a short message with his or her conversation inside. Yet the concept of texting also brings on a significant danger for distraction.

According to the Doctor’s Lounge, interruptions of about three seconds are enough to double the amount of errors that a person will make when performing any given task. At Michigan State University, researchers determined that short interruptions have a major effect. Typically, these interruptions are so brief that it isn’t the time that causes the errors. It is the psychological distraction, which lasts much longer than the glance at a text message does. The Journal of Experimental Psychology determined that error rates rise after a brief interruption because the person who was working on the task is suddenly distracted mentally. He or she has shifted attention to something else, and this can be devastating when the person is completing a task that demands precision.

Brief interruptions are common in workplaces, especially in hospitals. Sometimes, the interruption is a person poking his or her head into the office or operating room. Other times, the interruption is a text message or an e-mail on a mobile phone. When a physician has his or her personal mobile phone at the medical site, it can become a dangerous experience for the patient who is undergoing a procedure. Emergency room doctors in particular are in danger of a terrible accident if they are glancing at their phones between surgical procedures. Researchers say that doctors and nurses should put their phones away while on shift and should never glance at a text message or read an e-mail as a part of a “break” while in an operation room. All it takes is one moment for a disastrous mistake to occur.

While this is an extreme danger, there is another reason that text messaging may facilitate medical malpractice cases. This is because doctors and nurses are gradually starting to use text messaging to discuss patients’ conditions. Some patients are worried that their privacy is bring compromised as a result. A national survey by the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita discovered that more than half of all doctors send and receive work-related text messages on a regular basis. But as more and more doctors are texting through this medium, patients are wondering how secure those conversations are. Sometimes, hospitals may not have the proper encryption software and these sensitive conversations about a patient’s health may be accessible by outside parties.

A Wesley Medical Center chief medical officer says that the center does not mind if doctors use text messaging as long as the mobile device is encrypted. The doctors at this center are provided with encrypted software and physicians are also required to put passwords on their phones if they are going to use them to talk about work related matters. In some hospitals, there is a policy in place which bars any doctors from texting patient sensitive information on a cellphone. Many hospitals say that safety is a top concern and that they are already working hard to make sure that all information is kept private. Whether you experienced a poor surgery because of a doctor’s distraction, or you believe that sensitive information about your health was leaked because of a doctor’s negligence to secure his or her phone, you may be able to sue for medical malpractice. Contact an attorney today for more information!