Improving the user interface to increase patient throughput.

One of the main goals of a radiology department is to optimize patient throughput. We have observed a number of factors that reduce patient throughput, one of them being suboptimal system usage. In this article, we distinguish and discuss two ways to reduce suboptimal operation: improved design of the user-interface and active support for learning during system usage, i.e., during examinations. We outline the rationale for this by looking at the current situation and trends in radiology departments. We have based our work firmly on the principles of user-centered design. Observations, task modeling, user involvement, and prototyping have been undertaken.