Journal of biomedical informatics
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In this study, we show how medical devices used for patient care can be made safer if various cognitive factors involved in patient management are taken into consideration during the design phase. The objective of this paper is to describe a methodology for obtaining insights into patient safety features--derived from investigations of institutional decision making--that could be incorporated into medical devices by their designers. The design cycle of a product, be it a medical device, software, or any kind of equipment, is similar in concept, and course. ⋯ We recorded and transcribed the responses and conducted a cognitive task analysis of each scenario to identify different entities as "constant," "partially modifiable," or "modifiable." We compared our subjects' responses to the results of the task analysis and then mapped them to the modifiable entities. Lastly, we coded the relationships of these entities to the errors in medical devices. We propose that the incorporation of these modifiable entities into the device design cycle could improve the device end product for better patient safety management.
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The adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs) and user satisfaction are closely associated with the system's usability. To improve the usability of a results management module of a widely deployed web-based EMR, we conducted two qualitative studies that included multiple focus group and field study sessions. ⋯ Findings from both studies raised issues with the amount and organization of information in the display, interference with workflow patterns of primary care physicians, and the availability of visual cues and feedback. We used the findings of these studies to recommend design changes to the user interface of the results management module.