Usability Evaluation Methods Used in Electronic Discharge Summaries: Literature Review

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Medical Record Systems

Background:

• Digital health records, including electronic discharge summaries (eDS), are increasingly adopted.
• Assessing eDS usability is crucial for meeting end-user needs.
• Existing electronic health record usability evaluation methods may not fully apply to eDS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and review the usability evaluation approaches used for electronic discharge summaries (eDS).

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was conducted across multiple databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, etc.) up to July 2023.
• Studies evaluating the usability of eDS and their display systems were included.
• Information extraction followed PRISMA guidelines.

Main Results:

• 12 records met inclusion criteria, utilizing qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods.
• Heuristic evaluation (n=7) was the most frequent method, followed by think-aloud (n=5) and laboratory testing (n=3).
• Methods were often combined with questionnaires (n=3) and interviews (n=4), assessing metrics like performance, satisfaction, and efficiency.

Conclusions:

• A limited number of studies focus on eDS usability evaluations.
• Expert-based and user-centered approaches are currently employed, individually or combined.
• Further research is required to establish the most effective methods for assessing eDS fitness for purpose.