Cognitive Aids in Medicine in Medicine at Stanford

Sometimes called "checklists", we think of cognitive aids in medicine as structured pieces of information designed to enhance cognition and adherence to medical best practices. The format of the information in a cognitive aid can be as simple as a piece of paper with a written reminder, to something as complicated as an interactive and dynamically-changing computer-driven interface.

The goal of our Cognitive Aids in Medicine research group is to explore how to best design and measure the impact of the use of cognitive aids in medicine. We are focusing our initial efforts on high-stakes medical interventions that we believe would most likely benefit from aiding cognition: critical events in medicine. 

Our recent publications and talks

  1. Abir G, Austin N, Seligman KM, Burian BK, Goldhaber-Fiebert SN. Cognitive Aids in Obstetric Units: Design, Implementation, and Use. Anesth Analg. 2019 Aug 14. [Epub ahead of print]
  2. Arafeh J, Abir G. Chapter 4: Simulation-based Training in AWHONN’s High-Risk and Critical Care Obstetrics, 4th Edition – Wolters Kluwer Troiano NH, Witcher PM, Baird SM, Published May, 2018
  3. Hilton G, Daniels K, Goldhaber-Fiebert S, Lipman S, Carvalho B, Butwick. Checklists and multidisciplinary team performance during simulated obstetric hemorrhage. Int J Obstet Anesth 2016;25:9-16
  4. Hilton G, Daniels K, Carvalho B. Simulation study assessing healthcare provider's knowledge of preeclampsia and eclampsia in a tertiary referral center. Simul Healthc 2016;11:25-31
  5. Wu, L., Cirimele, J., Leach, K., Card, S., Chu, L., Harrison, T., Klemmer, S. Supporting crisis response with dynamic procedure aids Proceedings of the 2014 conference on Designing interactive systems. R.2014: 315–24
  6. Cirimele, J., Wu, L., Leach, K., Card, S., Harrison, T., Chu, L., Klemmer, S. RapidRead: step-at-a-glance crisis checklists Pervasive Health. R.2014: 25–32
  7. Wu, L., Cirimele, J., Bassen, J., Leach, K., Card, S., Chu, L., Harrison, K., Klemmer, S. Head-mounted and multi-surface displays support emergency medical teamProceedings of the 2013 conference on Computer supported cooperative work companion. 2013: 279–82
  8. Cirimele, J., Cirimele, J., Wu, L., Chu, L., Harrison, K., Card, S., Klemmer, S. Interactive Cognitive Aids for Critical Events in Anesthesia. Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins. 2013: 13–14
  9. Wu, L., Cirimele, J., Leach, K., Card, S., Chu, L., Harrison, K., Klemmer, S. Interactive cognitive aids in medicine CHI '13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 2013: 2887–88
  10. Larry Chu. Design Thinking in Anesthesia. Grand Rounds, Yale University Department of Anesthesia. October 2011.
  11. Larry Chu, Sara Goldhaber-Fiebert, T. Kyle Harrison. Crisis Management. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2011. 
  12. Harrison TK, Manser T, Howard SK, Gaba DM. Use of cognitive aids in a simulated anesthetic crisis. Anesth Analg. 2006 Sep;103(3):551-6.
  13. Gaba, David. Crisis management in anesthesiology. New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1994.
  14. Leslie Wu, Jesse Cirimele, Stuart Card, Scott Klemmer, Larry Chu, Kyle Harrison. Maintaining Shared Mental Models in Anesthesia Crisis Care with Nurse Tablet Input and Large-screen Displays. Poster at UIST: ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology. October, 2011.
  15. Kyle Barrett, Katherine Chen, Leslie Wu, Jesse Cirimele, Stu Card, Wendy Mackay, and Scott Klemmer. Reducing Medical Errors through Operating Room Cognitive Aids. CURIS poster presentation. August, 2011.
  16. Jesse Cirimele, Leslie Wu, Scott Klemmer, Stu Card. Tablet-based Cognitive Aids Reduce Errors and Increase Coordination in Crisis Care Teams. Invited talk at Stanford Medicine 2.0. September, 2011.
  17. Leslie Wu, Scott Klemmer, Stu Card, Kyle Harrison, Larry Chu. Large Screen and Tablet-based Interactive Cognitive Aids for Crisis Care. Interactive demo at Stanford Medicine 2.0. September, 2011.
  18. Goldhaber-Fiebert S, Chu LF, Harrison TK. Pulseless Electrical Activity, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  19. Goldhaber-Fiebert S., Chu LF, Harrison TK. Ventricular Tachycardia & Ventricular Fibrillation, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  20. Goldhaber-Fiebert S., Chu LF, Harrison TK. Asystole, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  21. Harrison TK., Chu LF, Goldhaber-Fiebert S. Symptomatic Bradycardia, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  22. Harrison TK., Chu LF, Goldhaber-Fiebert S. Amniotic Fluid Embolism, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  23. Harrison TK., Chu LF, Goldhaber-Fiebert S. Difficult Airway, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  24. Harrison TK., Chu LF, Goldhaber-Fiebert S. Malignant Hyperthermia, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  25. Harrison TK., Chu LF, Goldhaber-Fiebert S. Anaphylaxis, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  26. Harrison TK., Chu LF, Goldhaber-Fiebert S. Myocardial Ischemia, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  27. Goldhaber-Fiebert S., Chu LF, Harrison TK. Hypotension, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  28. Goldhaber-Fiebert S., Chu LF, Harrison TK. Hemorrhage / Massive Transfusion, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  29. Harrison TK., Chu LF, Goldhaber-Fiebert S. Venous Air Embolus, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  30. Harrison TK., Chu LF, Goldhaber-Fiebert S. Total Spinal Anesthesia, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  31. Harrison TK., Chu LF, Goldhaber-Fiebert S. Local Anesthetic Toxicity, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  32. Harrison TK., Chu LF, Goldhaber-Fiebert S. Transfusion Reaction, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  33. Goldhaber-Fiebert S., Chu LF, Harrison TK. Hypoxemia, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  34. Harrison TK., Chu LF, Goldhaber-Fiebert S. Pneumothorax, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  35. Harrison TK., Chu LF, Goldhaber-Fiebert S. Bronchospasm, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  36. Harrison TK., Chu LF, Goldhaber-Fiebert S. Delayed Emergence, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  37. Goldhaber-Fiebert S., Chu LF, Harrison TK. Oxygen Failure, O2Cross Over, Pipeline Failure, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.
  38. Goldhaber-Fiebert S., Chu LF, Harrison TK. Power Failure, In Chu et al., Manual of Clinical Anesthesiology, Atlas of Crisis Management, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2011.

About the group

Our multidisciplinary group includes clinicians, informaticians, experts in crisis management and simulation-based assessment, as well as human-computer interaction.

The People

The AIM Lab

This project is supported by the Stanford Anesthesia Informatics and Media Lab. This website was created by Dr. Larry Chu.