title: Using heuristic evaluations to assess the safety of health information systems.
abstract: Health information systems (HISs) are typically seen as a mechanism for reducing medical errors. There is, however, evidence to prove that technology may actually be the cause of errors. As a result, it is crucial to fully test any system prior to its implementation. At present, evidence-based evaluation heuristics do not exist for assessing aspects of interface design that lead to medical errors. A three phase study was conducted to develop evidence-based heuristics for evaluating interfaces. Phase 1 consisted of a systematic review of the literature. In Phase 2 a comprehensive list of 33 evaluation heuristics was developed based on the review that could be used to test for potential technology induced errors. Phase 3 involved applying these healthcare specific heuristics to evaluate a HIS.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: Elizabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Borycki
authors.forename: Andre W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Kushniruk
mesh_terms: D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control; D008490:Medical Informatics / Q000592:standards*; D017751:Safety Management