Identifying and addressing critical usability issues to strengthen nurses’ interactions with health IT

Abstract

Technology usability, especially electronic health record (EHR) usability, is a global concern for clinicians. Despite critical user experience (UX) issues, nurses are not vocal about interactions with health IT. The purpose of this project was to identify nurses’ health IT UX issues and propose solutions for them. Using a snowball sampling technique, 25 experts were interviewed using a semistructured format. Three themes emerged from content analysis (1) The Burdens of Health IT, (2) The Voice of Nursing, and (3) We Need a New Vision. Lack of cognitive support underscores the burden theme. The voice of nursing is missing throughout the systems life cycle, and a need exists for new visions of EHRs and training delivery. Solutions include the need for national leadership, modular redesign of EHRs to support the way nurses think and do work, and a concerted effort to incorporate UX methods into health IT design in the future.