User Centric team to deliver a featured presentation and host a collaboration tank at the World Usability Day in Chicago

User Centric is co-sponsoring the events for World Usability Day - Chicago 2007. The focus of this year's World Usability Day is healthcare, which is one of User Centric's areas of expertise. In the morning of November 8th, Aga Bojko and Gavin Lew will lecture on the topic of usability of drug packaging and labeling. After lunch, we will conduct healthcare-related hands-on collaboration sessions in our usability labs on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. The sessions will illustrate the following methodologies and their applications:

• Methods for pill color selection
• Eye tracking to test drug label layout
• Tachistoscopic presentation to test drug label layout
• Methodology for testing first use of medical devices
• Qualitative methods for evaluating labels

Presentation Abstract:

Usability of Drug Packaging and Labeling
Aga Bojko and Gavin Lew

Poor drug packaging and labeling contribute to 25% of reported medication errors. The efforts to improve this aspect of healthcare are non-trivial. User Centric has collaborated with pharmaceutical companies on a number of initiatives to increase patient safety and healthcare professionals' efficiency. This presentation will provide an overview of the different human factors methodologies we have used to evaluate and improve prescription drug labels for bottles, cartons, and IV bags, child-resistant containers, blister packs, and package inserts with instructions. The different approaches will be illustrated with examples from our studies with physicians, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, nurses, lab technicians, and patients.

Collaboration Tank Abstract:

Play with Your Life: Interactive Healthcare Design Games
Gavin Lew, Aga Bojko, Jessica Buttimer, Kristin Adamczyk, Melinda McElheny, and Korey Johnson

Play with healthcare design scenarios at User Centric's research facility at 500 N Michigan Avenue (across the street at Suite 1610). Put yourself in the shoes of a healthcare provider or patient and see how you fare against others. Can you differentiate between two drug labels in 0.05 seconds? Can you perform a successful (faux) injection the first time? How fast can you retrieve a drug from a pharmacy shelf? Can you pick the best pill color? How many fixations do your eyes need before you recognize the correct medication? Deadly serious, lively fun!