Study

Let's sort this out!

Posted: April 10,2018

A common usability problem that we've seen in many of the EHRs that we've evaluated is that default sort settings are the same for every list

Most of these systems seemed to have an ascending alphabetical sort (Things are sorted from A to Z) for all or most of the lists of items that are provided.

Developers often tell us that they set the sort order the same in each list so that there is a consistency across the application.

An ounce of prevention -- is worth a pound of cure

Posted: January 3,2018

Residents in the commonwealth of Virginia must take their car for a “safety inspection” each year. The test criteria is published by the state and it is fairly easy to determine in advance if your car is going to pass the inspection. Before you take your car for inspection, first you make sure that all lights are functional, the tires all have proper tread, the windshield wipers are working, etc. If you find anything, you make a small fix BEFORE going to the inspection station and will save the hassle of dealing with a failed test. An ounce of prevention.

Age-related Human Factors of Mobile Websites

Posted: December 12,2015

Mobile Device Users Age Faster Than General Population

-Levy Eymard - VP User Research

The mobile device user has, on average, gotten older at a faster rate than the general population. How can that happen? What does that mean for my website?

Doctors Using EHRs Spend More Time on Administrative Tasks

Physicians who use electronic health record systems experience more administrative burdens than their peers who use paper records, according to a study published in the International Journal of Health Services, FierceEMR reports (Durben Hirsch, FierceEMR, 10/28).

Study Details

For the study, researchers from the City University of New York analyzed data from the 2008 Health Tracking Physician Survey -- the most recent available -- to gauge how much time physicians spend on administrative tasks. The data included a nationally representative sample of 4,720 physicians who practiced 20 or more hours per weeks (Physicians for a National Health Program release, 10/23).

Study Findings

The study found that physicians who used EHRs reported spending about 17% of their working hours on administrative tasks, compared with 15.5% of those who used paper records.

Doctors using both EHR and paper records faced the greatest administrative burden of all groups, spending about 18% of their workweek on administrative tasks, according to the study.

Overall, the study showed the average physician spent 16.6% of the workweek, or 8.7 hours, on administrative tasks.

In addition, the study found that more time spent on administrative tasks contributed to lower morale. For example, physicians who said they were "very satisfied" spent an average of 16.1% of their time doing administrative tasks, while doctors who reported being "very dissatisfied" spent 20.6% doing such work (Physicians for a National Health Program release, 10/23).

The researchers attributed the increased administrative burden among EHR users to:

  • EHR documentation being more time-consuming than paper documentation; and
  • Providers considering some EHR data entry that relates to patient care, such as billing, administrative (FierceEMR, 10/28).
Source: iHealthBeat, Thursday, October 30, 2014

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