Applying Human Factors Engineering to Improve Usability and Workflow in Pathology Informatics

Abstract

Human factors engineering is an underutilized approach in the design, evaluation, and implementation of health information technology. Heuristic evaluation of the usability of an interface is a ‘low-hanging fruit’ for identifying a set of relatively simple modifications to a software program that can make software easier to use. In this paper, we describe recommendations to improve the usability of a software package used to view digitized images of tissues by pathologists. Several recommendations were immediately implemented, and others are planned for future releases. The changes are anticipated to be more compatible with user expectations from interacting with similar elements in other packages, and thus easier to learn and use.

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