Framework evaluates top 20 EHRs--and they don’t quite measure up

Electronic health record (EHR) vendors are required to test their products for usability, but how closely are these requirements being followed? A new comparative evaluation published Tuesday is intended to promote transparency around the design and usability testing of EHR products. Here is how 20 of the most common products measured up. Falling short The AMA and MedStar Health’s National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare developed an EHR User-Centered Design Evaluation Framework to compare the design and testing processes for optimizing EHR usability. Using data provided by vendors to meet the certification requirements set by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the framework employs a 15-point scale intended to go beyond the ONC’s criteria and evaluate EHR vendors’ compliance with best practices for a user-centered design process to encourage the ONC to raise the bar on federal usability certification. Effective usability is critical to patient safety and physician satisfaction. In 2013, a study from the AMA and the RAND Corporation found that EHR usability represents a unique and vexing challenge to physician professional satisfaction. The framework analysis showed a lack of focus on user-centered design and usability testing among a large majority of the 20 EHR products. Out of those 20 products evaluated, only three met each of the basic capabilities measured. View the assessment for full results on...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news