Human-centered development of an electronic health record-embedded, interactive information visualization in the emergency department using fast healthcare interoperability resources.

OBJECTIVE

Develop and evaluate an interactive information visualization embedded within the electronic health record (EHR) by following human-centered design (HCD) processes and leveraging modern health information exchange standards.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We applied an HCD process to develop a Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) application that displays a patient's asthma history to clinicians in a pediatric emergency department. We performed a preimplementation comparative system evaluation to measure time on task, number of screens, information retrieval accuracy, cognitive load, user satisfaction, and perceived utility and usefulness. Application usage and system functionality were assessed using application logs and a postimplementation survey of end users.

RESULTS

Usability testing of the Asthma Timeline Application demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in time on task (P < .001), number of screens (P < .001), and cognitive load (P < .001) for clinicians when compared to base EHR functionality. Postimplementation evaluation demonstrated reliable functionality and high user satisfaction.

DISCUSSION

Following HCD processes to develop an application in the context of clinical operations/quality improvement is feasible. Our work also highlights the potential benefits and challenges associated with using internationally recognized data exchange standards as currently implemented.

CONCLUSION

Compared to standard EHR functionality, our visualization increased clinician efficiency when reviewing the charts of pediatric asthma patients. Application development efforts in an operational context should leverage existing health information exchange standards, such as FHIR, and evidence-based mixed methods approaches.