Improving the User Experience with Discount Site-Specific User Testing

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Poor electronic health record (EHR) usability contributes to patient safety risks, user dissatisfaction, and provider burnout.
• While EHR vendors undergo user testing for certification, site-specific implementations lack this requirement, potentially introducing new usability problems.
• Customization of EHRs by healthcare organizations necessitates localized usability evaluations to identify and address these issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize a site-specific discount user testing program at an academic medical center.
• To evaluate the impact of usability testing on EHR implementation decisions and user experience.
• To demonstrate how simplified usability methods can identify and resolve EHR concerns.

Main Methods:

• Conducted three user testing events evaluating thirteen new EHR features previously undergoing heuristic evaluation.
• Employed a think-aloud technique with 5-6 users per event, collecting data on efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction.
• Characterized usability concerns by heuristic violation type and correctability.

Main Results:

• Identified an average of 2.5 usability concerns per feature, with 70% deemed correctable before implementation.
• One feature was withdrawn post-implementation, potentially predictable by low user satisfaction scores.
• Another feature was rebuilt and retested based on usability findings, while a third highlighted an easily correctable issue.

Conclusions:

• Simplified, site-specific usability testing with limited participants can uncover correctable issues, even post-heuristic evaluation.
• Discount usability approaches are valuable for EHR implementations, enhancing end-user experience.
• This method offers a practical means for health systems to improve EHR usability without requiring dedicated specialists.