Usability Checklists for Health Technology: Case Study and Experts' Opinions.

ABSTRACT

Application of usability evaluations throughout the health technology lifecycle is necessary to improve the efficiency, safety, and effectiveness of health service delivery. Unfortunately, technology vendors and healthcare organizations may not have funding, time or expertise to conduct usability studies. In this paper, we describe how usability checklists can potentially fill this gap. First, we introduce a case study using a checklist to identify usability issues with a primary care dashboard. Then we provide an expert summary of the strengths and limitations of usability checklists. Findings suggest that checklists are efficient to identify important usability issues. They can be used effectively by project team members - including clinicians - without formal usability training. However, checklists should complement rather than replace usability evaluations with representative users.