Improving health care efficiency one click at a time.

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Computers are essential in modern hospitals, with mouse clicks being a standard interaction method.
• The time cost associated with frequent mouse clicks is often overlooked in clinical workflows.
• Current hospital computer use relies heavily on mouse-based interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the potential financial cost of computer mouse clicks in a hospital setting.
• To highlight the economic impact of seemingly minor user interface interactions.
• To encourage consideration of click-related costs in workflow design.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of estimated time costs for a specified number of daily mouse clicks per staff member.
• Calculation of annual financial implications based on average staff numbers and click frequency.
• Economic modeling of workflow changes impacting mouse click usage.

Main Results:

• An estimated 10 additional mouse clicks per day for 20,000 hospital staff could cost over AU$500,000 annually.
• The cumulative time and financial cost of frequent mouse clicks can be substantial.
• Workflow modifications increasing mouse clicks may carry significant hidden economic burdens.

Conclusions:

• The financial cost of computer mouse clicks in hospitals is significant and warrants attention.
• Healthcare organizations should evaluate the cost-benefit of workflow changes that increase mouse click usage.
• Strategies to reduce low-value mouse clicks may offer a pathway to healthcare cost savings.