Time-out settings

Time-out settings (sometimes written as "timeout settings") have an important security role in clinical informatics applications to minimize the potential for unauthorized accessing of clinical information.

According to the Oxford University Press Dictionary of Computing, a time-out is "a condition that occurs when a process which is waiting for either an external event or the expiry of a preset time interval reaches the end of the time interval before the external event is detected."

With clinical software applications, the application closes after a designated time-out period. To resume use of the application, the user must log back in to the application.

In clinical informatics applications, the determination of an appropriate time-out interval can be difficult. If a time-out setting is too long, security can be compromised. If a time-out setting is too short, users can become frustrated by the need to repeatedly log-in after relatively brief periods without computer activity.

The frequent interruptions that characterize clinical workflow can lead to an excessive number of timeouts when the user is at the computer but attending to another task. However, such interruptions can also lead users to physically leave the computer terminal, providing a potential for compromise of secure data.

Examples of Actual Use... At Cedars-Sinai the routine timeout for data viewing is 5 mins, but that is dynamically extended to longer periods (10-15 mins or longer) depending on the kind of entries or editing required for specific screens.

However, they wanted to be able to cover screens quickly, regardless of the application timeout. Our clinical workstation group developed a neat trick to do this for both privacy purposes and to deliver timely information to clinicians. They took advantage of a feature in Win XP that allows images to be dropped in a folder and then be automatically used as a succession of screen savers, like a PowerPoint show. New screensaver images are pushed out remotely as needed. We set the Windows screen timeout to 2 mins (can be as short as q1 min) and the designated screens fade in and out with keyboard & mouse inactivity. We use these screens to deliver highly effective safety messages including hand washing and illegal abbreviations, which helped us earn a perfect safety score on the last JCAHO survey. They have also been used to announce new system features or important policies & procedures. These screens became so popular as billboards that we had to develop a governance & approval process for them. Like any other screensaver, they disappear instantly with a key or mouse trap, so they are not obtrusive. Now our workstations work for us even when they are idle.

References

A Dictionary of Computing. Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Accessed 9 April 2006

--Lfochtmann 17:00, 9 April 2006 (CDT)