Comparing bedside information tools: a user-centered, task-oriented approach

There are a number of electronic products designed to provide information at the point of care. These bedside information tools can facilitate the practice of Evidence Based Medicine. This paper evaluates five of these products using user-centered and task-oriented methods. Twenty-four users of these products were asked to attempt to answer clinical questions using a variety of products. The proportion of questions answered, time spent searching and user satisfaction were measured for each product. Results show that proportion of questions answered and time spent searching was not necessarily correlated with user satisfaction with a product. When evaluating electronic products designed for use at the point of care, the user interaction aspects of a product become as important as more traditional content-based measures of quality. Actual or potential users of such products are in the pest position to identify which products rate the best in these measures.