Health Information Technology Usability

Description

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act provides financial incentives and other support to drive the adoption and meaningful use of EHRs. A recent report funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), however, identified key shortcomings among certified EHR vendors in the processes, practices and use of standards and best practices with regard to usability and human factors. Efficient and effective use of EHRs is essential as these systems increasingly become a central tool for patient care.

The NIST health IT Usability initiative is focused on establishing a framework that defines and assesses health IT usability. The goal of the research effort, being conducted in collaboration with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), is to create a detailed specification of an objective, repeatable procedure for measuring and evaluating the usability of health IT systems. The initiative will examine the human factors critical to designing usable EHRs and will guide industry in usability engineering practices.

Reports & Publications

Examining the Copy and Paste Function in the Use of Electronic Health Records
January 19, 2017
Author(s): Svetlana Z. Lowry, Mala Ramaiah, Sandra S. Prettyman, Debora Simmons, David Brick, Ellen Deutsch, Lorraine B. Possanza, Ollie B. Gray, Betty A. Levine, Kinsey Gimbel, Kyle Andrews

Improving Clinical Workflow in Ambulatory Care: Implemented Recommendations in an Innovation Prototype for the Veteran’s Health Administration
August 3, 2015
Author(s): Svetlana Z. Lowry, Emily S. Patterson, Mala Ramaiah, Michael C. Gibbons, David Brick, Robert Calco, Greg Matton, Anne Miller, Ellen Makar, Jorge Ferrer

(NIST 8095) Electronic Health Record Design Considerations in Responding to Incidences of Highly Infectious Diseases: Clinical Workflows and Exception Handling
December 2015
Author(s): Svetlana Z. Lowry, Mala Ramaiah, Emily S. Patterson,  Paul Latkany

Technical Basis for User Interface Design of Health IT
September 2015
Author(s): Michael E. Wiklund, Jonathan Kendler, Limor Hochberg, Matthew B. Weinger

Improving Clinical Workflow in Ambulatory Care: Implemented Recommendations in an Innovation Prototype for the Veteran’s Health Administration
August 3, 2015
Author(s): Svetlana Z. Lowry, Emily S. Patterson, Mala Ramaiah, Michael C. Gibbons, David Brick, Robert Calco, Greg Matton, Anne Miller, Ellen Makar, Jorge Ferrer

JMIR_APPLYING HUMAN FACTORS PRINCIPLES TO MITIGATE USABILITY ISSUES RELATED TO EMBEDDED ASSUMPTIONS IN HEALTH IT DESIGN
April 30, 2015
Author(s): Svetlana Z. Lowry, Michael C. Gibbons, Emily S. Patterson

(NISTIR 8042) Integrating Electronic Health Records into Clinical Workflow: An Application of Human Factors Modeling Methods to Obstetrics and Gynecology and Ophthalmology
February 2015
Author(s): Svetlana Z. Lowry, Mala Ramaiah, Emily S. Patterson, Paul Latkany, David Brick, Michael C. Gibbons

(NISTIR 7988) Integrating Electronic Health Records into Clinical Workflow: An Application of Human Factors Modeling Methods to Ambulatory Care
March 11, 2014
Author(s): Svetlana Z. Lowry, Mala Ramaiah, Emily S. Patterson, David Brick, Ayse P. Gurses, Ant Ozok, Debora Simmons, Michael C. Gibbons

(NISTIR 7952) Toward a Shared Approach for Ensuring Patient Safety with Enhanced Workflow Design for Electronic Health Records -- Summary of the Workshop
August, 2013
Author(s): Svetlana Z. Lowry, Mala Ramaiah, Ant Ozok, Ayse P. Gurses, Michael C. Gibbons, David Brick, Emily S. Patterson, Debora Simmons

Enhancing Electronic Health Record Usability in Pediatric Patient Care: A Scenario-Based Approach
March 20, 2013
Author(s): Emily S. Patterson, Jiajie Zhang, Patricia Abbott, Michael C. Gibbons, Svetlana Z. Lowry, Matthew T. Quinn, Mala Ramaiah, David Brick

(NISTIR 7865) A Human Factors Guide to Enhance EHR Usability of Critical User Interactions when Supporting Pediatric Patient Care
June 28, 2012
Authors: Svetlana Z. Lowry, Matthew T. Quinn, Mala Ramaiah, David Brick, Emily S. Patterson, Jiajie Zhang, Patricia Abbott, Michael C. Gibb

(NISTIR 7804) Technical Evaluation, Testing and Validation of the Usability of Electronic Health Records
February 21, 2012
Author(s): Svetlana Z. Lowry, Matthew T. Quinn, Mala Ramaiah, Robert M. Schumacher, Emily S. Patterson, Robert North, Jiajie Zhang, Michael C. Gibbons, Patricia Abbott

Usability and Accessibility in Consumer Health Informatics: Current Trends and Future Challenges
May 16, 2011
Author(s): Larry Goldberg, Bettijoyce B. Lide, Svetlana Z. Lowry, Holly Massett, Whitney Quesenbery, Ben Schneiderman

(NISTIR 7769) Human Factors Guidance to Prevent Healthcare Disparities with the Adoption of EHRs
April 7, 2011
Author(s): Michael C. Gibbons, Svetlana Z. Lowry, Matthew T. Quinn

(NISTIR 7741) NIST Guide to the Processes Approach for Improving the Usability of Electronic Health Records
November 29, 2010
Author(s): Robert M. Schumacher, Svetlana Z. Lowry

(NISTIR 7743) Usability in Health IT: Technical Strategy, Research, and Implementation
November 29, 2010
Author(s): Janice (Ginny) Redish, Svetlana Z. Lowry

(NISTIR 7742) Customized Common Industry Format Template for Electronic Health Record Usability Testing
November 16, 2010
Author(s): Robert M. Schumacher, Svetlana Z. Lowry