Usability Problems in Patient- and Clinician-Oriented Health Information Systems: What Are They and How Do They Differ?

This study aimed to identify the usability problems in the eVisits based on the interaction experience of the three target user groups and compare their preferences for usability features. We used think aloud usability sessions with 5 patients, 5 nurses and 5 physicians in a laboratory setting to examine users’ interaction with the eVisits. Nielsen’s usability heuristic principles were applied to analyze the recorded usability sessions in Morae. Usability feature preferences among the three user groups were overlapped in the four heuristics. However, each user group had their own perceptions of these criteria that were specific to their unique needs. Clinicians tended to emphasize the importance of features relevant to their professional activity. Error prevention and aesthetic/minimalist design heuristics were brought up in the comments of physicians while two other groups did not mention anything related to these criteria. Only patients expected the features related to help and documentation heuristic.