Usability in Healthcare: Ability to Use is the Tip of the Iceberg
Usability in Healthcare: Ability to Use is the Tip of the Iceberg
(Presented in Denver, Colorado, on Nov 15, 2013, at CHIMSS.org's Fall Half Day Educational Program in conjunction with World Usability Day: “Raising Awareness and Promoting Usability Best Practices in Health Organizations World-Wide”) Summary: Usability as a concept originates in the era, not long ago, when we were so impressed by what information technology could do for us that we accepted difficult user interfaces as unfortunate but inevitable facts of life. Our main interest was in functionality. In 2005, World Usability Day was created to spread awareness of the benefits of designing technology that not only performs useful functions, but also interacts well with human users – including those without technical expertise. The initial focus of usability was simply on giving ordinary people the ability to use technology without needing expensive and time-consuming training. However, ability to use is really just the tip of the iceberg. The iceberg here is the inescapable humanness of information technology. IT is created by humans, interacts with humans, and has both positive and negative impacts on humans. Below the tip of the iceberg lie human impacts that are deeper, but less obvious, than ability to use. They include impacts on stress, emotion, thinking, decision-making, and social interaction. The best doctors not only diagnose conditions and prescribe treatments, but also interact with their patients in ways that actively support healing – for example by building trust, expressing care, and supporting resilience. Similarly, the best healthcare information technology not only delivers functionality, but also interacts with its users in ways that actively support positive psychological processes – for example, by helping people to manage stress and emotion, think clearly and make good decisions, and treat each other well.
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Usability in Healthcare: Ability to Use is the Tip of the Iceberg
- 1. Usability in Healthcare: Ability to Use is the Tip of the Iceberg Michael Siepmann, Ph.D. The Tech Design Psychologist™ 303-835-0501 • MS@InteractionInsight.com • @MSiep © 2013 Interaction Insight Consulting, LLC All rights reserved © 2013 Interaction Insight Consulting, LLC. All rights reserved.
- 2. Usability’s Initial Focus © 2013 Interaction Insight Consulting, LLC All rights reserved 2 November 15, 2013
- 3. The Inescapable Humanness of Tech Use Me! © 2013 Interaction Insight Consulting, LLC All rights reserved 3 November 15, 2013
- 4. Paths of Tech Design Impact Ability to use © 2013 Interaction Insight Consulting, LLC All rights reserved 4 November 15, 2013
- 5. Ability to Use Cognition, Emotion, Behavior • Cognitive Ease • Adolf Hitler was born in 1887. • Adolf Hitler was born in 1892. © 2013 Interaction Insight Consulting, LLC All rights reserved 5 November 15, 2013
- 6. Tech Design Cognition “This patient brings to mind ” “But is more common” “Think like a clinician” “Think like a statistician” © 2013 Interaction Insight Consulting, LLC All rights reserved 6 November 15, 2013
- 7. Tech Design Emotion • Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) “The key to effective management of STS is … early recognition of, and insight into, the strong emotions experienced in the doctor-patient relationship.” - Peter Huggard, 2003 ? © 2013 Interaction Insight Consulting, LLC All rights reserved 7 November 15, 2013
- 8. Tech Design Behavior • Behavior Toward Obese Patients “Primary care physicians … demonstrated less emotional rapport with overweight and obese patients … than with normal weight patients.” - Kimberly Gudzune, et al., 2013 Social psychology Technology © 2013 Interaction Insight Consulting, LLC All rights reserved What would help? Deliver help “just in time” 8 November 15, 2013
- 9. The Best Doctors © 2013 Interaction Insight Consulting, LLC All rights reserved 9 November 15, 2013
- 10. The Best Healthcare Technology Positive influence Ability to use © 2013 Interaction Insight Consulting, LLC All rights reserved 10 November 15, 2013
- 11. What You Can Do ? © 2013 Interaction Insight Consulting, LLC All rights reserved 11 November 15, 2013 !
- 12. Contact Me Michael Siepmann, Ph.D. The Tech Design Psychologist™ 303-835-0501 MS@InteractionInsight.com @MSiep Images courtesy of OpenClipArt.org © 2013 Interaction Insight Consulting, LLC All rights reserved 12 November 15, 2013