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Understanding and Rating the Usability of the Electronic Medical Record
Wednesday, 01 July 2009 01:17 | 
| Organizations - HIMSS |
Cost and loss of productivity are most often cited as reasons for slow progress for EMR implementation…but…what about usability?
CHICAGO (June 30, 2009) – A new white paper, Defining and Testing EMR Usability: Principles and Proposed Methods of EMR Usability Evaluation and Rating, identifies usability of clinical software systems for the electronic medical record as “one of the major factors, and possibly the most important factor hindering wide-spread adoption of EMRs.”
Released by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society EHR Usability Task Force, the white paper emphasizes that usability principles and methods offer benefits for certification organizations “to test and rate products for usability.” Authors are task force members Jeff Belden, MD – Chair, HIMSS EHR Usability Task Force; Rebecca Grayson and Janey Barnes, PhD.
This HIMSS reference offers both in-depth and basic definitions of the term concluding that “a system with good usability is easy to use and effective.” In addition, anyone new to the topic, or readers who want to expand their current knowledge, will find the white paper:
1. Describes and defines usability as it pertains to the EMR
2. Identifies a set of well-established principles of usability and design
3. Offers potential methods of assessing and rating EMR usability
“Through our research, we found that usability as a requirement in the certification process could benefit product development for more usable EMR products and give users or decision-makers more confidence in selecting clinical EMR systems,” said Dr. Belden. He explained that the task force also contacted the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology to better understand its program requirements for certification and for adding usability as a criterion to its EMR certification process, which CCHIT is now actively considering. Those criteria appear in the white paper.
The task force shares its own approach for usability rating of EMR products, information that provides a distinctive and definitive approach to consider. An abbreviated list of those recommendations follows with the complete list on p. 19 in the white paper.
Start small: Begin usability rating with a focus on simple efficiency and effectiveness measures, including some initial patient safety checkpoints.
Develop measurements: Devise objective measures of efficiency that takes into account time of task and number of user interactions.
Define the process: Select a set of test tasks for evaluating efficiency that a) are frequently performed by providers b) that are at risk of being inefficient and c) that allow evaluation of tasks and workflow.
Create a 5-star rating system: Define the usability rating system using 5 stars based on an absolute standard.
Improve with time: Usability rating programs should evolve in sophistication over a multi-year period.
“With the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as the catalyst for healthcare reform, this white paper provides an insightful review of usability for the EMR and its value in the certification process,” said Edna Boone, MASS, CPHIMS, HIMSS senior director, healthcare information systems. “The task force will continue to study this important topic of usability and its benefits for successful EMR implementation.”
Read Defining and Testing EMR Usability: Principles and Proposed Methods of EMR Usability Evaluation and Rating on the HIMSS Web site.
About HIMSS
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is the healthcare industry's membership organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of healthcare information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded in 1961 with offices in Chicago, Washington D.C., Brussels, Singapore, and other locations across the United States and the globe, HIMSS represents more than 20,000 individual members and over 350 corporate members that collectively represent organizations employing millions of people. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare public policy and industry practices through its advocacy, educational and professional development initiatives designed to promote information and management systems’ contributions to ensuring quality patient care.
For more information, contact: Joyce Lofstrom/HIMSS, 312-915-9237 – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Source: HIMSS
CHICAGO (June 30, 2009) – A new white paper, Defining and Testing EMR Usability: Principles and Proposed Methods of EMR Usability Evaluation and Rating, identifies usability of clinical software systems for the electronic medical record as “one of the major factors, and possibly the most important factor hindering wide-spread adoption of EMRs.”
Released by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society EHR Usability Task Force, the white paper emphasizes that usability principles and methods offer benefits for certification organizations “to test and rate products for usability.” Authors are task force members Jeff Belden, MD – Chair, HIMSS EHR Usability Task Force; Rebecca Grayson and Janey Barnes, PhD.
This HIMSS reference offers both in-depth and basic definitions of the term concluding that “a system with good usability is easy to use and effective.” In addition, anyone new to the topic, or readers who want to expand their current knowledge, will find the white paper:
1. Describes and defines usability as it pertains to the EMR
2. Identifies a set of well-established principles of usability and design
3. Offers potential methods of assessing and rating EMR usability
“Through our research, we found that usability as a requirement in the certification process could benefit product development for more usable EMR products and give users or decision-makers more confidence in selecting clinical EMR systems,” said Dr. Belden. He explained that the task force also contacted the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology to better understand its program requirements for certification and for adding usability as a criterion to its EMR certification process, which CCHIT is now actively considering. Those criteria appear in the white paper.
The task force shares its own approach for usability rating of EMR products, information that provides a distinctive and definitive approach to consider. An abbreviated list of those recommendations follows with the complete list on p. 19 in the white paper.
Start small: Begin usability rating with a focus on simple efficiency and effectiveness measures, including some initial patient safety checkpoints.
Develop measurements: Devise objective measures of efficiency that takes into account time of task and number of user interactions.
Define the process: Select a set of test tasks for evaluating efficiency that a) are frequently performed by providers b) that are at risk of being inefficient and c) that allow evaluation of tasks and workflow.
Create a 5-star rating system: Define the usability rating system using 5 stars based on an absolute standard.
Improve with time: Usability rating programs should evolve in sophistication over a multi-year period.
“With the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as the catalyst for healthcare reform, this white paper provides an insightful review of usability for the EMR and its value in the certification process,” said Edna Boone, MASS, CPHIMS, HIMSS senior director, healthcare information systems. “The task force will continue to study this important topic of usability and its benefits for successful EMR implementation.”
Read Defining and Testing EMR Usability: Principles and Proposed Methods of EMR Usability Evaluation and Rating on the HIMSS Web site.
About HIMSS
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is the healthcare industry's membership organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of healthcare information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded in 1961 with offices in Chicago, Washington D.C., Brussels, Singapore, and other locations across the United States and the globe, HIMSS represents more than 20,000 individual members and over 350 corporate members that collectively represent organizations employing millions of people. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare public policy and industry practices through its advocacy, educational and professional development initiatives designed to promote information and management systems’ contributions to ensuring quality patient care.
For more information, contact: Joyce Lofstrom/HIMSS, 312-915-9237 – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Source: HIMSS
