RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Information Chaos in Primary Care: Implications for Physician Performance and Patient Safety JF The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine JO J Am Board Fam Med FD American Board of Family Medicine SP 745 OP 751 DO 10.3122/jabfm.2011.06.100255 VO 24 IS 6 A1 John W. Beasley A1 Tosha B. Wetterneck A1 Jon Temte A1 Jamie A. Lapin A1 Paul Smith A1 A. Joy Rivera-Rodriguez A1 Ben-Tzion Karsh YR 2011 UL http://www.jabfm.org/content/24/6/745.abstract AB Purpose: The purpose of this article is to explore the concept of information chaos as it applies to the issues of patient safety and physician workload in primary care and to propose a research agenda. Methods: We use a human factors engineering perspective to discuss the concept of information chaos in primary care and explore implications for its impact on physician performance and patient safety. Results: Information chaos is comprised of various combinations of information overload, information underload, information scatter, information conflict, and erroneous information. We provide a framework for understanding information chaos, its impact on physician mental workload and situation awareness, and its consequences, and we discuss possible solutions and suggest a research agenda that may lead to methods to reduce the problem. Conclusions: Information chaos is experienced routinely by primary care physicians. This is not just inconvenient, annoying, and frustrating; it has implications for physician performance and patient safety. Additional research is needed to define methods to measure and eventually reduce information chaos.