Using a unified usability framework to dramatically improve the usability of an EMR Module

Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) are increasingly used in modern health care. As a result, systematically applying usability principles becomes increasingly vital in creating systems that provide health care professionals with satisfying, efficient, and effective user experiences, as opposed to frustrating interfaces that are difficult to learn, hard to use, and error prone. This study demonstrates how the TURF framework [1] can be used to evaluate the usability of an EMR module and subsequently redesign its interface with dramatically improved usability in a unified, systematic, and principled way. This study also shows how heuristic evaluations can be utilized to complement the TURF framework.