A hospital that outfitted its medical residents with infrared badges found they spent only about 13 percent of their time at the patient bedside.
The 43 internal medicine interns tracked during the 2018-19 academic year spent most of their time in hallways or conference rooms, according to the study published June 8 in JAMA Network Open. The investigation was led by researchers at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Research has found that intern rounds have largely migrated away from the bedside, likely contributing to a decline in skills that could lead to more medical errors, the study's authors wrote. Less time with patients could also contribute to a lack of purpose and, in turn, the increase in physician burnout, they said.
The findings could be used to design interventions to get trainees back into patients' rooms, the authors said.