Disruptive Behaviors in Healthcare

Disruptive behaviors among healthcare members are a nationally recognized problem encountered frequently in healthcare institutions. Disruptive behaviors have a negative effect on concentration, communication, collaboration, and workplace relationships. Because of these negative effects, disruptive behaviors have been linked to compromised patient safety, adverse events, and patient mortality. To minimize the occurrence of these events, several strategies or policies have been mandated by some healthcare organizations. However, despite these mandates disruptive behaviors continue to be an escalating national patient safety concern. We aim 1) to describe the most common types of disruptive behaviors-their prevalence, frequency, and distribution in various sectors of healthcare; 2) to recognize the factors that drive disruptive behaviors and their consequences on patient safety; and 3) to illustrate the organizational processes used to address the general issue of disruptive practitioners. We believe that increasing the awareness of disruptive behaviors and understanding the organizational processes that healthcare institutions can have to minimize these behaviors has the potential to reduce the occurrence of disruptive behaviors and improve effective communication among the healthcare team. These efforts may eventually lead to improvements in patient care and safety, as well as improvements in organizational performance.