The Focused Hospital

Naturally, work in hospitals is characterized by a high number of interruptions. Studies show that very high fragmentation rates are common not only in intensive care units but also in emergency departments, where medical staff are interrupted on average every four minutes by a phone call or a query. However, three-quarters of these inquiries relate to issues that would not arise at all if the processes in the clinics were designed to be more focused and defragmented. Fragmentation, multitasking, and excessive time pressure lead to stress, emotional exhaustion, and a measurable decline in concentration – a situation that is equally dangerous for doctors, nurses, and patients. The Focused Hospital model is a systemic approach aimed at comprehensive and structured defragmentation and focus in clinical practice. It includes a whole bundle of measures that help participants reduce the number and severity of stress factors while simultaneously improving their handling of these demands. One of the most important aspects of this approach is that the measures are designed and implemented autonomously by the wards and teams. After all, it is their workplace that is being shaped, and they are the experts in delivering medical services.