Competitive Usability Evaluation of Electronic Health Records: Preliminary Results of a Case Study

Abstract

It is necessary for hospitals to be able to compare the usability of electronic health records (EHR) before acquisition. Adding usability as a critical element of the procurement process is therefore crucial. During the competitive usability evaluation of several EHRs, the usability walkthrough method has the potential of making end-users more active in the procurement process than demonstrations. This case study presents first results of a comparison of three EHRs performed by nine representative end-users. All users uncovered usability problems while performing their scenarios. The results show that none of the EHRs evaluated is without major usability problems. These problems have been well-known to human factors researchers for a long time.

Active Involvement of End-Users in an EHR Procurement Process: a Usability Walkthrough Feasibility Case Study

“…We reported EHR usability findings in a companion article. [ 37 ] Two vendors withdrew their applications during the procurement process, leaving only three candidate EHRs for analysis.…”

“…We published the results of this questionnaire in a companion article. [ 37 ] We organized end-users into groups according to professional roles. A usability expert then debriefed each group using a semi-structured interview script exploring EHR strengths and weaknesses (Appendix D ).…”

“…Some usability problems identified during the reported procurement process were published in a conference proceeding. [ 37 ]…”

“…34 We published our questionnaire findings in a companion article. 37 The walkthrough ended once participants completed all CLIPS or after two hours had elapsed. Afterward, users completed the System Usability Scale (SUS) 38 -a validated 10-item questionnaire with Likert-type statements and performance benchmarks.…”

“…Some usability problems identified during the reported procurement process were published in a conference proceeding. 37 Corresponding Author: Romaric Marcilly, PhD; , Univ. Lille, CHU Lille, ULR 2694 -METRICS: Évaluation des technologies de santé et des pratiques médicales, Lille, F-59000, France (e-mail: romaric.…”