Health graphics: reconciling theory and practice in the 21st century

This presentation attempts to break away from traditional beliefs about the promises of computer graphics, particularly regarding their application for information management within the health care industry. A key question in graphical interface research for designers and practitioners is whether human information processing, including perceptual, cognitive, and decisional effectiveness, can and will improve with the use of innovative (e.g., color graphics) versus traditional modes (e.g., monochrome tables) of representation. A careful survey of the large existing bodies of empirical literature bearing on this question suggests that too much medical information processing has proceeded through the blind creation of new forms of computer graphical interface without a preliminary thinking about the cognitive aspects of the task at hand. Several research-based guidelines are drawn to provide both the practitioners and users with insights as to how one should best approach the selection of a particular graphical interface for use in a health administrative or clinical information system setting. The presentation also suggests directions for future research in the domain of health graphics for information management and clinical decision support.