Human Technology Interface
Human technology interface (HTI) is a term used to describe humans and technology. This defines the application of computer technology in every field within the nursing profession. The Healthcare system relies on technology and people, and thus the interaction between the two provides an opportunity for improved health and care processes. In nursing, computer technology involves the hardware and software tools that enable interaction with the technology in aiding the nursing processes for the effective functionality of the healthcare system (Glasgow et al., 2018). Various HT interfaces can be provided as examples in nursing. The EHR system is one of the software accessible through computers and other technological devices used in the healthcare system. The nurses access patients’ data and communicate with the patients through the technology. Nurses at the point of care use their phones and tablets to search for prescription details from the pharmacological databases. This form of interaction is facilitated by sophisticated software and hardware.
There are various issues associated with the human-technology interface within the healthcare system. One of the issues is related to human-technology interfaces is complex graphic user interfaces that are not easy to navigate and interact with the user in processing and communicating the information. I witnessed a nurse navigating a CPOE system within the healthcare processes. The design had congested items and procedures that were unclear to the nurse, which was a risky experience for the patient care process and the general quality of care. According to Lopez et al. (2021), healthcare human-technology interfaces should be easy to use with the output face that faces the user. This was contrary to the desired nature of an effective interface since the nurse was required to gamble through various pages in accessing the interactive pages for communication. Various solutions can reduce the difficulty in navigating various technological interfaces within the healthcare system. One of the solutions is to conduct a needs assessment to determine the type of systems the users in the healthcare system would require. Through a study, Quintana & Cruz (2021) established that needs assessments in technology acquisition improved the interaction and usability of technologies within the healthcare system. The needs assessment provides information to the acquisition team on the critical details for the information systems and technologies that the healthcare facility should acquire—provision of prototypes before purchasing the technological devices. A prototype is defined as an early sample of a product built for a test. In the healthcare system, sample prototypes of the technological systems allow the team to test the viability and usability of the technology. If the CPOE system is tested, the technical team understands the nurses’ concerns in using the system and thus improves the actual information system. The third solution is providing enough education on the usability of the information system. When the interface is difficult to understand, the organization must educate and train the users to effectively navigate and use the interface. Training nurses and other healthcare providers on the functionality of the healthcare information systems improve the usability and quality of processes in the healthcare system (Ajami & Mohammadi-Bertiani, 2021).
The Electronic Health Records (EHR) system is one of the most used information systems in the healthcare system. The information system allows for collecting patient records at every point of care, starting with diagnosis to treatment evaluation. This is one of the human-technology interfaces that I observed as effective and good for interaction. The EHR Windows interface design is not congested, with a clear presentation of the icons and content. The interface has a “search data” icon that communicates to the user to search for the particular patient data stored in the system. The system also provides a place to enter patient data in creating a virtual file of a patient’s record. The system also provides an analytic tool for the data collected, which is useful in analyzing epidemiological data and determining the prevalence of a health condition within the health facility or community. Monica (2019) points out that poor EHR usability in the healthcare system contributed to more than 557 patient safety risks between 2013 and 2018. This shows the importance of having a communicative and easy-to-use EHR system. This shows that a system that is not interactive with the users, mostly nurses and clinicians, may cause care issues.
The human-technology interfaces impact and influences my role as a nurse administrator in various ways. The technological interfaces can help me as an administrator to collect epidemiological data for
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