Electronic Health Records Software Often Written without Doctors’ Input
We’ve written in the past about health information technology, including a doctor’s impression of electronic medical records (EMRs) and physicians declining satisfaction with EMRs.
A recent study found out why EMRs are so frustrating for physicians: the software is often written without doctors’ input.
“Current guidelines and industry standards suggest that new EHR software should be tested by at least 15 end users with a clinical background to make sure they are usable and safe before they get federal certification.
But a new study finds that many certified products did not actually conduct this user testing, or did so without clinical testers.”
That raises another question. Can you imagine Microsoft or a hardware/software developer at Apple beta testing new products on only 15 users? Furthermore, isn’t it beyond imagination that managers at Apple or Microsoft would ever say, “Hey, let’s not bother with testing this on 15 people, that’s just a waste of time.”