What time do you have?

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: In the emergency medical field, a small error of time can make a huge difference because many difficult decisions depend on time. The purpose of this study was to confirm errors on the timepieces used by the medical system and to emphasize the importance of accurate time. METHODS: The timepieces of physicians, nurses, firefighters, paramedics, emergency department wall clocks, order communication system (OCS) computers, defibrillators, ECG machines, patient monitoring devices were investigated in 5 emergency medical centers. The time in OCS main server and 1339 emergency medical information center were checked by phone. The time on each timepieces was compared with the time of coordinated universal time korea (UTCK). The types of timepieces were confirmed and how often they set the time. RESULTS: There were 203 timepieces in 236 subjects. The timepieces had a mean error of 12 minutes 14 seconds. The errors were smaller in timepieces worn by the personnels compared to time on various devices used in the emergency department. The maximum error, 16 hours 20 minutes 31 seconds was found on patient monitoring devices. CONCLUSION: The timepieces used in the emergency medical care are often inaccurate. This can create medical or medicolegal problems. We should recognize the importance of maintaining accurate time and put an effort in reducing the errors of our timepieces.