Biometrical Signatures in Practice: A challenge for improving Human-Computer Interaction in Clinical Workflows

Experience shows that within the sensitive area of documentation in a clinical centre, there are problems involved in acquiring the end user's acceptance of authentication solutions based on smart cards, passwords, finger prints or digital signatures. The individual signature is still the most accepted method of certifying medical documents in hospitals and other health care sectors. This paper presents some solutions to the problem of using the biometric signature for certifying Diagnostic Finding Reports (DFRs) within a traditional clinical workflow. For this purpose, the authors implemented a framework application in C# and .NET on a Tablet-PC. A usability study was carried out to gain insight into the acceptance and usability of the biometric signature. Good end user acceptance and usability can only be obtained by providing simple operation (good user guidance), very short response times and, where possible, low rejection rates. In order to make an application successful, a clear increase in value must be immediately apparent to the end user.