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Appl Clin Inform 2013; 04(02): 241-250
DOI: 10.4338/ACI-2013-03-IE-0016
Invited Editorial
Schattauer GmbH

Debunking Health IT Usability Myths

N. Staggers
1   School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD.
2   College of Nursing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
,
Y. Xiao
3   Baylor Health Care System, Patient Safety Research, Dallas, Texas, United States
,
L. Chapman
4   Macadamian, User Experience Research, Ottawa, Canada
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

received: 08 March 2013

accepted: 21 May 2013

Publication Date:
19 December 2017 (online)

Also available at
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Summary

Poor usability is a threat to patient safety and linked to productivity loss, workflow disruption, user frustration, sub-optimal product use and system de-installations. Although usability is receiving more attention nationally and internationally, myths about usability persist. This editorial debunks five common myths about usability (1) usability only concerns the look and feel of a product and is, therefore, only a minor concern, (2) usability is not measurable, (3) usability stifles innovation, (4) vendors are solely responsible for product usability, and (5) usability methods are not practical for use in healthcare.

Keywords

Usability - user experience - human-computer interaction
 

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