Compact Usability Evaluation Procedure for HIS Procurement: Oral Imaging PACS

Usability of health information systems (HISs) affects satisfaction, efficiency, and well-being of end users. Therefore, it should be considered already during procurement. In this paper, we present a compact usability evaluation procedure based on a case study of a picture archiving and communications system (PACS) procurement for oral healthcare. We describe the overall procedure, adaptation of existing methods to fit the measurement of usability in this limited context, as well as initial results from applying it. The procedure is based on demonstrations that follow user scenarios and includes three usability evaluation methods: heuristic evaluation, perceived usability questionnaire and key task satisfaction questionnaire. The emphasis of the paper is on the methodological procedure to inform future HIS procurements, especially when a resource-efficient approach is needed for usability evaluation.