The relationship between user interface problems of an admission, discharge and transfer module and usability features: a usability testing method

Abstract

Background The admission, discharge and transfer (ADT) module is used in the hospital information system (HIS) for the purposes of managing appointments, patient admission, daily control of hospital beds, planning surgery procedures, keeping up-to-date on patient discharges, and registering patient transfers within or outside the hospital. The present study aimed to evaluate the usability of ADT module of a HIS through usability testing and assess the relationship between the number of user interface problems and usability features (i.e. effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction). Methods This descriptive analytical study was conducted in Shahid Beheshti hospital in Kashan, Iran, in 2017. The participating users were eight students in their last semester of a Bachelor of Health Information Technology Sciences degree. First, the users were introduced to the module functions in a two-hour session; ten days later, the users were asked to perform scenarios designed based on seven tasks and take notes of the problems encountered in performing each task after it was over. Effectiveness was measured based on the rate of completing the tasks, efficiency based on the time taken to perform each task, and satisfaction based on the users’ answers to a satisfaction questionnaire. The relationship between these three usability features and the number of problems noted was assessed using Spearman’s test in SPSS version 16. Results Thirteen unique usability problems were identified from the perspective of the users. Effectiveness was rated as 58.9%, efficiency as 53.3%, and mean user satisfaction as 53.4 ± 10.6. The number of problems in each task had significant relationships to the effectiveness ( P = 0.009) and efficiency ( P = 0.016) scores. User satisfaction also had a significant relationship with the effectiveness ( P = 0.043) but not with the efficiency ( P = 0.230) scores. Conclusions In the view of the potential users, a HIS, used in more than 200 hospitals in a developing country, has several usability problems in its ADT module and its effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction were not acceptable. The number of usability problems in the HIS user interface affected the effectiveness, efficiency and user satisfaction of the system.

Comparison Usability Evaluation Methods in a Health Information System: Heuristic Evaluation versus Cognitive Walkthrough Method

“…The study by Khajouei et al [29] also reported that the HE method is signi cantly superior in identifying problems associated with satisfaction, which is consistent with the results of the present study, however, in the present study, satisfaction was at the second place, following effectiveness in terms of the usability attributes having the most number of recognized problems by the HE method. As a general rule, effectiveness can be achieved when users are able to perform their activities and tasks accurately and completely via the system [50,51]. As a result, correcting the recognized usability problems by the HE method leads to a signi cant increase in the effectiveness and satisfaction of users, provided that a system is well-designed with minimal complexity.…”

Design, development, and evaluation of an interactive training simulator for teaching hospital information systems

“…In another study, researchers evaluated the usability of this HIS in performing these eight processes. [ 16 ]…”

The efficiency and effectiveness of surgery information systems in Iran

“…According to the results, the effectiveness of this system was not different in the effectiveness of the paper-based system, but its efficiency was higher. Farrahi in a study [22] measuring the relationship between user interface problems of an admission, discharge, and transfer (ADT) module with usability attributes, found that the efficiency and effectiveness of that system were unacceptable. This was due to the user interface issues such as unclear function of some keys, lack of "help" option, and the existence of hidden menus in the system.…”