If technology doesn't work for people...it doesn't work!®
March 2009 Usability Spotlight
Usability Dollars in the Stimulus Package
The recently-passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 dedicates a large part of its girth to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act). With $18 billion for “computerizing Americans’ health records, reducing medical errors, and saving billions in health care costs” (see recovery.gov), the Health IT (HIT) market is likely to experience massive growth. But how does this apply to usability?
Related Links
- Google Health vs. Microsoft HealthVault: Consumers Compare Online Personal Health Record (PHR) Applications
- How to Select an Electronic Health Record System that Healthcare Professionals Can Use
- User Centric Develops Guidelines for Personal Health Record (PHR) Applications Based on User Research
Usability Tip
by Wendy Yee, Ph.D.
Understanding the Impact of EHR Interfaces
Walking a Mile in Physicians' Shoes
When evaluating/designing for Health Care Professionals, try to keep the following basic UI requirements in mind:
The structure and organization of an EHR application needs to reflect actual HCP workflow. Although office-based physicians often have very different workflows than hospital-based clinicians, many EHRs try to support a particular type of workflow (and size of practice or healthcare organization).
Key application features - especially those related to CPOE activities - should be immediately self-evident and self-explanatory
The EHR application should support basic user interface requirements such as:
The Not Usable File
Photo Credit: Derek Viita
Maybe we'll just stay on the beach...
Did You Miss?
Our December Usability Spotlight highlighted some interesting articles:
10 Things to Watch Out for When Designing for Usability and SEO
Traveling with AA's New Mobile Boarding Pass
Usability Tip - Ensure that your site is accessible to both humans and search engine bots.
Visit us at HiMSS, Chicago! Booth #3382
We will be demonstrating how eye tracking can be utilized to uncover opportunities to improve user interfaces. Call +1.630.376.1188 or email us to schedule a private eye tracking demo at our booth!
What's Driving the Mini Cooper? Not the User Experience.
Robert Schumacher to Discuss the State of Usability in Procurement of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) at the TEPR Medical Records Institute Conference
