A New York Times report discussed examples in which a neurosurgeon was making personal calls during surgery, rendering a patient partly paralyzed; a nurse checking airline pricing during surgery; and cardiac bypass technicians admitting to texting during procedures.

A peer-reviewed survey of 439 medical technicians revealed that 55% of bypass technicians admitted to talking on their mobile phones during cardiac surgery and half said they texted during surgery, wrote The Times. The study appears in the journal Perfusion.

Others describe nurses and medical technicians surfing the Internet in the operating room while patients are on the table and open, said Information Week, not to mention anesthesiologists texting while administering medications. One physician told The Times about what he’s seen on intensive care unit computers. Sites accessed by his colleagues during prior surgeries, included Amazon, Internet mail, and auction sites, said The Times.

According to Dr. Peter J. Papadakos, an anesthesiologist and director of critical care at the University of Rochester Medical Center, he has witnessed medical staff “glued” to their devices. “You justify carrying devices around the hospital to do medical records,” he said. “But you can surf the Internet or do Facebook, and sometimes, for whatever reason, Facebook is more tempting,” he said, wrote The Times. “My gut feeling is lives are in danger,” Dr. Papadakos added.

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