Workarounds and digital health: current perspectives through human factors, person-centred practice and patient safety lenses

Digital health tools and solutions are being widely adopted in healthcare settings, implementation without the consideration of the entire work system can lead to clinicians adopting workarounds or creative redesigns of workflows to manage barriers that arise. While these strategies can highlight flexibility and adaptations, they are also a symptom of workflow disruption which has serious implications for patient safety and person-centred care. This paper synthesises perspectives on digital workarounds from global experts in human factors, patient safety and person-centred care, using a whole systems approach. To minimise workarounds, work processes and workflows must be well-designed to support patient safety and person-centred care, while also recognising and integrating beneficial adaptations to prevent unsafe practices from becoming routine.