[snowwrestler]

I challenged a friend of mine who works long shifts at an ER about why they allowed doctors to work tired, when other industries like airline pilots, air traffic controllers, truckers, even factory workers abide by restricted schedules to make sure they are well-rested.

He pointed out the caregiver handoff is also a source of errors--the departing doctor can't fully describe the history and their thought processes about every aspect of every patient they are treating. And people sometimes make mistakes on charts. He said the schedule at his hospital, at least, tries to strike a balance between continuity of care and fully rested doctors.

[AmadKamali]

This is true to a certain extent. Another major factor is unavailability of suitably qualified and experienced doctors. Especially in high stress/low prestige specialties like emergency medicine.

[ajcarpy2005]

OK. This actually makes sense. This seems like something that IBM Watson could make a dent in solving.