HIT Usability and Design Challenges

Reflect on your experiences with the integration of new technology. How have these implementations affected the procedures that you perform at work? As the end user, it can be easy to overlook all of the important decisions that went into the finished product that you see before you. In looking at the final data management screens, you may find yourself at the crossroads of two options. You may either 1) be ecstatic about the needed change that this system brought, or 2) frustrated because you feel the system brings new hurdles into your already busy day. If you have ever experienced the latter option, the comment “I could have implemented a better system than this” may resonate strongly with you. Though research agrees that user input assists HIT designers, the development and implementation of new systems is not as straightforward as it may appear. HIT development teams find themselves in constant phases of trial and error as they strive to meet the needs of all users within the proposed development timeline. Failure to achieve promised usability benefits can lead to increased costs and job complications. Applying effective strategies to overcome usability challenges is essential.

In this week’s Discussion, you move from the standpoint of the “ outsider looking in” (end user) and place yourself into a real-world implementation example. To complete this Discussion, you evaluate a case study to determine where the implementation process took a wrong turn. Use this week’s Learning Resources to propose changes that could have put this operation on the road to success.

To prepare:

Review the Learning Resources, focusing on the TIGER Usability and Clinical Application Design Collaborative.

Consider the “Best Practice Exemplars” provided in the course text Nursing Informatics: Where Technology and Caring Meet.

Review “Case Study 1: A Usability and Clinical Application Design Challenge” presented on page 238 of the course text Nursing Informatics: Where Technology and Caring Meet.

Determine the causes of the noted usability challenges (i.e., human factors, ergonomics, human-computer interaction), as well as potential usability concerns experienced by staff during implementation. Consider the possible design failures that lead to the usability challenges.

What strategies might you employ to overcome these HIT usability challenges and concerns?

By Day 3 post a cohesive response to the following:

Place yourself in the role of the clinical administrator tasked with implementing the case study’s new health information technology system.

Evaluate the usability challenges that you faced during implementation as well as the factors that caused these challenges.

Determine whether these challenges were a result of implementation or design.

Formulate strategies for overcoming these usability challenges.