- (NISTIR 7769) Human Factors Guidance to Prevent Healthcare Disparities with the Adoption of EHRs
- (NISTIR 7741) NIST Guide to the Processes Approach for Improving the Usability of Electronic Health Records
- (NISTIR 7742) Customized Common Industry Format Template for Electronic Health Record Usability Testing
- (NISTIR 7743) Usability in Health IT: Technical Strategy, Research, and Implementation
- (NISTIR 7804) Technical Evaluation, Testing and Validation of the Usability of Electronic Health Records
- (NISTIR 7865) A Human Factors Guide to Enhance EHR Usability of Critical User Interactions when Supporting Pediatric Patient Care
Lana Lowry
Information Technology Laboratory
Information Access Division
llowry@nist.gov
Matt Quinn
Information Technology Laboratory
Information Access Division
matt.quinn@nist.gov
Usability
NIST has released guidance on NISTIR 7865 "A Human Factors Guide to Enhance EHR Usability of Critical User Interactions when Supporting Pediatric Patient Care".
NIST has launched a Wiki to support collaboration among all stakeholders in developing tools for measuring and evaluating the usability of Health IT systems. Please click here to access the NIST EHR Usability Wiki and register.
Usability is "the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use" [ISO9241]. Usability represents an important yet often overlooked factor impacting the adoption and meaningful use of electronic health record (EHR) systems. Without usable systems, doctors, medical technicians, nurses, administrative staff, consumers, and other users cannot gain the potential benefits of features and functions of EHR systems.
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.
The research findings will be used to support the development and evaluation methods for these standards.
Usability Fact Sheet
June 7th Usability Workshop presentations are now available.
Comments/questions regarding NIST usability activities can be submitted to EHRUsability@nist.gov.
Upcoming Events
Creating Usable Electronic Health Records (EHRs): A User-Centered Design Best Practices Workshop, Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Federal Partner Activities:
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- ONC Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP) Program
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)