Too much or too little? Investigating the usability of high and low data displays of the same electronic medical record

Abstract

The high data density on electronic medical record screens is touted as a major usability issue. However, it may not be a problem if the data is relevant and well-organized. Our objective was to test this assumption using a comprehensive set of measures that assess the three pillars of usability: efficiency (both physical and cognitive), effectiveness, and satisfaction. Physicians were asked to go through a series of tasks using two versions of the same electronic medical record: one where all the display items were separated into tabs (the original display), and one where important display items were grouped logically in one tab (the redesigned display). Results supported the hypothesis that combining relevant data in organized fashion into a smaller location would improve usability. The findings highlight the role of good display organization to mitigate the effects of high data density, as well as the importance of assessing cognitive load as part of usability studies.

Patient Safety Issues From Information Overload in Electronic Medical Records

“… 16 A similar study determined that a 1-page EHR with a higher density of pertinent information was preferable to one with multiple tabs and improved cognitive workloads. 17 …”

“…Efficiently extracting clinically relevant information from the EHR can be a difficult task for physicians. 15 , 17 , 22 , 23 This increased cognitive load placed on physicians makes them more prone to clinical errors, which puts patient safety at risk. 15 A worrisome implication of these results in light of the continuous growth of information is that, without any changes, the rate of medical errors will more than likely continue to worsen over time.…”

“…Consolidation would help ameliorate the ill effects of cognitive overload and improve physicians’ ability to analyze data. 15 – 17 …”

“…Consolidating important information into one area could make a significant impact in combatting this seemingly constant growth of chart data. Consolidation would help ameliorate the ill effects of cognitive overload and improve physicians’ ability to analyze data 15–17 …”

The impact of information quality of antimicrobial susceptibility test report on the rational antimicrobial use

“…However, the guiding signi cance of AST was sometimes limited [9] . One reason was that physicians suffered from information overload, which meant that physicians did not have enough energy to absorb all information provided by the AST report because of an excessive amount of terminal clinical data [9,10] .…”