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Human Factors Engineering
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Human Factors Engineering Paper
The twenty-first century has brought a growing interest in the adoption of electronic health records in a majority of countries around the globe. The acknowledgment facilitates this that a stronger health information system is vital to achieving high-quality care at reduced costs. Electronic health records have been an integral part of an effective healthcare system that guarantees positive health outcomes. Electronic health records are defined as a digital library of patient data stored and exchanged securely and readily accessible to users.
Electronic Health Record (EHR) Application in A Health Care Setting
One clinical application of electronic health records in the healthcare system is the usage of clinical patient care. In this respect, an electronic health record’s core functions are clinical functions such as health information data, results, management order entry, and support decision support. The main prerogative is managing the health information to do their work with the needed efficiency. Electronic health records assist in the organization of the medical information of patients as well as for recordkeeping. This also offers much timely access to patient records, for instance, in radiology department results and laboratory test results. Therefore, it reduces, redundancy issues which were mostly experienced through manual record keeping. This further improves the quality of care experienced by improving the quality of service.
Similarly, electronic health records offer vital medical information to the point of healthcare service delivery with supporting clinical decision systems such as those for drug order entry, thereby reducing pharmaceutical errors of wrong prescriptions and chances of drug effects. Further Electronic health records facilitate communication (sharing of patient information) among authorized medical practitioners, particularly in a particular setting. This helps in information integration among personnel such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and laboratory scientists. Using a digital reminder system for the patient and the clinician will help increase compliance with preventive service protocols.
Elements Of Design Usability For That Application
Usability as a concept is a measure of how well a particular user in a digital platform can adopt a particular product or design to achieve a particular goal with maximum efficiency, effectiveness, and much satisfaction. A design’s usability is measured using the development process to the final product to ensure maximum usability of the platform. In this case, the usability of an electronic health record is achieved through continuous involvement with the stakeholder (which are doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and laboratory scientists in the hospital setting.
The best usability is achieved by adopting suggestions from the medical practitioner team (who were previously consulted). Among the various complaints of adopted EHR systems from medical practitioners (nurses and doctors) and staff members are that electronic records are more difficult to work with and generally make processes longer than the traditional system. The key elements to ensure the usability of an electronic health record are: Consistency of relaying of data, no buffering or interruptions of systems. A minimalist design that fosters easy usage of the system. A successful EHR system should also have clear documentation of usage and error handling. It should be customizable and flexible, less rigid. It should contain reversibility options as well as user control options. Also, to enhance the systems language control, clear closure is imperative.
How Human Factors Or Heuristic Principles Affect The Electronic EHR In The Chosen Application
Disparities in gender and age and prior computer experience were not linked with differences in Electronic health records usage. However, other factors, such as education and employment levels, have a positive association with the use of electronic health records. In addition to the lack of training and managerial support, the systems hardware and connectivity problems negatively affected electronic health records. Although Electronic health records were found to improve the quality and efficiency in managing patients, these factors were highly likely to hinder the successful usage of the systems (Daya & Pourhomayoun, 2020).
Recommend An Improvement To The Chosen Electronic Application. Provide A Rationale For The Suggested Improvement Based On Knowledge Of Design Usability
One significant recommendation is the decrease in the data entry burden for the medical practitioner. This includes exploring ways in which the whole healthcare team is included. Also, this includes finding ways to automatically capture information and permitting patients to enter their information by themselves. It is also vital to separate data entry from the reporting of data. This will permit family members of the patient, the patient, and the healthcare team to enter data that can be customizable. Further, another significant factor can be determining ways in which Electronic health records can facilitate; earning and research at the point of care during routine practice. Alternative data collection methods, such as sound recording, will be helpful (Setiaa & Menon, 2020).
References
Daya, F., & Pourhomayoun, M. (2020). Feasibility study of an EHR-integrated mobile shared decision making application. International Journal Of Medical Informatics, 124, 24-30. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
Setiaa, P., & Menon, N. (2020). EHR application portfolio and hospital performance: Effects across hospitals with varying administrative scale and clinical complexity. Information And Management, 57(8). Retrieved 9 December 2020,
Human factors engineering paper
Question
The purpose of this assignment is to explain the principles of design usability and analyze the impact of human factors on electronic applications for health care systems.
Write a 750-1,000 word paper on the usability of health informatics applications. Include the following:
Describe an example of an electronic health record (EHR) application used in a health care setting.
Describe the key elements of design usability for that application.
Analyze and describe how human factors or heuristic principles affect the electronic EHR in the chosen application.
Recommend an improvement to the chosen electronic application.
Provide a rationale for the suggested improvement based on knowledge of design usability.
Support your findings with a minimum of two scholarly resources.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.
Human factors engineering paper