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Using Usability Evaluation to Inform Alberta's Personal Health Record Design
Morgan Price1, Paule Bellwood1, Iryna Davies1
1eHealth Observatory, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Studies in Health Technology and Informatics
|February 14, 2015
Summary
Alberta Health
Area of Science:
- Health Informatics
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Usability Engineering
Background:
- Alberta Health is implementing a Personal Health Portal (PHP) with a Personal Health Record (PHR) component.
- This initiative represents Canada's first PHR of its kind.
- The University of Victoria's eHealth Observatory is conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the PHP and PHR.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct early usability evaluations of the Personal Health Record (PHR) software.
- To identify areas for improvement in the PHR's information architecture, content, and presentation.
- To provide insights for future PHR design and implementation.
Main Methods:
- Employed persona-based usability inspection.
- Conducted usability testing sessions utilizing the think-aloud protocol.
- Focused on early-stage software evaluations.
Main Results:
- Users demonstrated familiarity with web-based technology.
- Identified several aspects of the PHR requiring enhancement, including information architecture, content, and presentation.
- Improvements are needed to optimize user support and value delivery.
Conclusions:
- Early usability evaluations revealed opportunities to enhance the PHR's design.
- Findings offer valuable guidance for developers and implementers of similar PHR systems.
- Optimizing usability is crucial for maximizing the value and adoption of personal health records.
