Asking the Right Questions-Human Factors Considerations for Telemedicine Design

The goal of this paper was to provide a narrative review of human factors considerations for telemedicine. It also sought to provide readers a foundation of human factors thinking and methods that could be employed within their own practice.

There are only a handful of articles that discuss the importance of user-centered design and human factors principles in relation to telemedicine systems. Most articles come to the conclusion that design flaws could have been avoided by involving stakeholders in the design and implementation of telemedicine. However, many of them lack the guidance for those who find themselves having to choose, implement, or use unwieldy systems. With this in mind, this paper provides a series of human factors principles, real-world questions, methods, and resources for those who may find themselves considering, implementing, sustaining, or using telemedicine in their own healthcare settings.