AMIA 1999, Session 53

Panel: Usability Studies in Primary Care Informatics: Searching for Useful Answers to “Everyday Problems”

Session Chair: H.C. Mullins, MD, Crozer Keystone Health System, Upland, PA.

Participants: H.C. Mullins, MD, Crozer Keystone Health System, Upland, PA, I. Purves, MD, Newcastle University, Newcastle, United Kingdom, P.J. Ziemkowski, MD, Michigan State University, Kalamazoo, MI, and A. Holbrook, MD, PharmD, MSc, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada.

In the US only a small percentage of primary care practitioners utilize electronic information systems (including an electronic medical record) in their office, clinic, or other ambulatory setting. When considering a decision about using information technology, a busy practitioner wants to know if it makes a difference and seeks answers to a wide variety of questions such as: Should I be using information technology? If so, why? Does it really improve the quality of patient care? Is it practical to use in my particular office? How difficult will it be for me and my staff to learn how to use it? What hardware and software should I buy? What kinds of network connections do I need? Panel members will explore the current availability of meaningful answers to these questions; report a study whose methods might serve as a model for others; present an overview of heuristics and usability studies; report on methodologies used in small community-based offices; and after discussion by and with attendees, explore the role of usability studies in primary care informatics research in the future.

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