Design of a graphical and interactive interface for facilitating access to drug contraindications, cautions for use, interactions and adverse effects

Abstract

Background: Drug iatrogeny is important but could be decreased if contraindications, cautions for use, drug interactions and adverse effects of drugs described in drug monographs were taken into account. However, the physician's time is limited during consultations, and this information is often not consulted. We describe here the design of "Mister VCM", a graphical interface based on the VCM graphical language, facilitating access to drug monographs. We also provide an assessment of the usability of this interface.

Comparison of two kinds of interface, based on guided navigation or usability principles, for improving the adoption of computerized decision support systems: application to the prescription of antibiotics

“…▸ Area D, on the right side of the screen, displays the criteria for hospitalization, with a graphical summary: Mister VCM, developed in our laboratory by Lamy et al [34][35][36] (eg, a highlighted brain means that the patient should be hospitalized if he or she has neurological problems). ▸ Area E, on the right side of the screen, shows situations not concerned by the CPG.…”

“…Various techniques have been proposed for CDSS display: (a) reduction of the number of screens to facilitate navigation 31 32 and to promote efficient interactions 30 ; (b) use of appropriate font sizes, 29 acceptable contrast between text and background, 29 and meaningful colors 29 30 to improve readability; (c) organization of information (eg, grouping similar pieces of information together) [30][31][32] to facilitate on-screen searches; (e) display of important information in more prominent positions to ensure that it is seen 31 32 ; (d) use of tables, 21 graphs, 21 buttons, 29 scroll bars, 29 and iconic languages [34][35][36] to ensure that the density of information is appropriate. Space-filling approaches such as Treemaps principles may also help to maximize the amount of information that can be displayed in the available display space.…”

A Visual Decision Support System for Helping Physicians to Make A decision on New Drugs

“…First, VCM icons (Visualization of Concept in Medicine) [9,11,10] are icons for representing the main categories of patient conditions, including symptoms, disorders, age classes,... Due to the high number of patient conditions, it is not possible to create a specific icon for each of them. Therefore, VCM icons are created using an iconic language.…”

Langage iconique et interfaces interactives en médecine : application aux dossiers patients, guides de bonnes pratiques et moteurs de recherche médicaux

“…Une interface particulière, « Monsieur VCM » [16], a été développée pour visualiser un ensemble d'icônes VCM (par exemple les contre-indications d'un traitement). Cette interface s'appuie sur un schéma anatomique présentant les principales localisations anatomofonctionnelles à l'aide des pictogrammes VCM, ainsi que d'une zone regroupant les différentes étiologies.…”