HIMSS

HIMSS is a global, cause-based, not-for-profit organization focused on better health through information technology (IT).

The top 5 EHR usability problems and how to fix them!

This year at HIMSS in Las Vegas there was no shortage of talk about the “lack of usability” in EHRs.  In the final HIMSS16 show daily (Thursday March 3, 2016) there were four articles (“When EHRs cause Harm,” “5 UX steps to Healthy Clinical apps,” “Nurse: We face severe IT usability problems,” and “The leading health IT issues? Poor usability and missing safeguards”) that addressed some aspect of EHR usability.

For The Usability People, LLC the time for talk has long been over.  Many of you already know that we have been on an active campaign--by giving talks at conferences, on social media, and with our many Healthcare clients--to improve the usability of Health IT.  We don’t want more talk, we want to DO SOMETHING about this important healthcare issue.  Usability in healthcare it can save lives. 

 

Auto bumpers and HealthIT Interoperability

Ralph Nadar's book Unsafe At Any Speed raised public awareness of some of the safety problems associated with the Chevrolet Corvair.  Nadar’s book, however, was also an indictment of the auto industry as a whole and served as a lightning rod for legislation establishing what would eventually become the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). 

These two industries, HealthIT and automobiles have quite a lot in common including that they are both highly regulated.  These regulations exist because in both industries poor design can lead to safety issues and the possible death of their user’s.

Usability and UX Sessions at HIMSS16

HIMSS16 is presenting the following:

User Experience Forum Improving User Experience: A Roadmap to Safer, More Effective Health IT

This forum will explore the HIT user experience (UX) and the impacts of UX on efficient quality care delivery. A diverse assembly of vendors, administrators, and clinicians will share their perspectives and prescriptions. The forum will conclude with an expert panel who will discuss future steps to increase the effective use of user-centered design (UCD) principles in HIT hardware, software, practices and processes across the continuum.

Tuesday, March 1
UX in HIT: A History of How We Got To Where We Are Today
Session id: 8 8:30AM - 9:30AM PT
Tuesday, March 1st
UX in HIT Development: Vendor Perspectives
Session id: 23 10:00AM - 11:00AM PT
Wednesday, March 2
UX Makes All the Difference for Clinicians
Session id: 98
8:30AM - 9:30AM PT
Wednesday, March 2nd
UX , ROI, and the 'Bottom Line’
Session id: 113
10:00AM - 11:00AM PT
Thursday, March 3
What Does the Evidence Tell Us About UX?
Session id: 188
8:30AM - 9:30AM PT
Thursday, March 3rd
Creating A Shared Vision: The Roadmap for Successful User-Centered HIT
Session id: 203 10:00AM - 11:00AM PT
 

Patient Engagement, Usability, and Meaningful Use Stage 3

Patient Engagement

Patient engagement was a very hot topic at the recent HIMSS conference in Chicago. There was no shortage of exhibitors promoting their patient engagement tools and there were also several presentations that contained suggestions for better engaging patients. Some exhibitors that we spoke to were not aware of the proposed patient engagement rules (described below) and were very excited at the prospect of greater use of their tools.

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