WRITERS:NR543 W6 Usability Assessment SOLVED Usability Assessment

WRITERS:NR543 W6 Usability Assessment SOLVED Usability Assessment

Usability assessment measures how easy technology is to use and whether people can complete tasks using the technological system under consideration. It helps identify problems with usability and provides solutions on how to use various aspects of the system. By making sure that the technology system is easy to use, hospitals can improve patient care and reduce medical errors. The whole process should be conducted early in the design process to address any issues before the technology is finalized and released (Mlekus et al., 2020). Electronic Health Records (EHR) is one system that relies on usability assessment before implementation is done. EHR usability assessment often involves heuristic evaluation, cognitive walkthroughs, and focus groups. The purpose of this paper is to recognize the role of usability considerations in the design, use, and acceptance of technology; identify features that impact usability, and compare the merits of different usability-assessment methods.

Background on Function/Information System Assessed

For this assignment, the information system assessed was the EHR System commonly used to manage patients’ information. By definition, an EHR system is a medical information system that stores patients’ health information in an electronic format (Mlekus et al., 2020). Design elements of an EHR system include the following: Patient Demographics comprising basic patient information, such as name, date of birth, and sex; Clinical Information, which includes all the clinical data collected from a patient’s visit to a provider, such as medications prescribed, lab results, and problem list; Administrative Information comprising billing and insurance information, as well as other administrative data.

The EHR system’s design often considers the needs of all stakeholders – providers, nurses, clerks, pharmacists, and administrators. A health record is a compilation of a person’s medical history. Electronic health records are digital versions of this information that can be accessed by authorized providers and staff within the healthcare system. The purpose of electronic health records is to provide healthcare providers with secure, on-demand access to a patient’s medical history, which can then inform decisions about care (Lowry et al., 2015). Additionally, EHRs can help improve communication among providers and ensure that critical patient information is available wherever and whenever it is needed.

In my healthcare organization, the EHR system under consideration has been in use for the last five years; it has aided patient data management and ensured quality improvement in healthcare delivery processes. Healthcare professionals, including myself, have been regular users of this system. As a result, there is an advanced understanding of different aspects of the system (Lowry et al., 2015). I have experience with electronic health record (EHR) systems from provider and patient perspectives. From my experience, EHRs are a valuable tool for providers because they allow us to quickly and easily access patient information. This is especially helpful when we are providing care for multiple patients simultaneously.

Patients also appreciate EHRs because they can view their medical history online and receive appointment reminders via email or text message. Additionally, many EHR systems offer patients the ability to communicate with their providers electronically via secure messaging (Lowry et al., 2015). This feature is especially beneficial for patients who live far from the clinic or who have a busy lifestyle and cannot always make it to the clinic for an in-person visit.

Methods of Assessment

Usability assessment is important for healthcare technology because it can help to ensure that patients can use the technology without difficulty and understand how to use it. Usability testing aims to identify problems and fix them before the product is released to the public or put into use by different organizations. Usability problems can cause devices to be rejected by users, which can lead to increased costs for manufacturers and hospitals. Usability assessments should also be conducted regularly during a product’s life, as changes in user needs or interface design can affect how users interact with technology (Lowry et al., 2015). When it comes to EHR usability assessment, a few key methods are commonly used: heuristic evaluation, cognitive walkthroughs, and focus groups.

Heuristic evaluation is one of the major assessment methods that involves having a small team of experts evaluate a product based on specific design principles. It is a usability testing method that involves evaluators reviewing designs and judging their compliance with recognized usability principles (heuristics). The heuristic evaluation aims to fin