Healthcare Software

Optimized Data Entry for Healthcare

In these times of increased productivity, there is a push to move legacy data entry applications onto newer platforms which are better at facilitating collaboration and information sharing. One common pattern is where a legacy data entry application gets ported onto the web. Unfortunately, unless it is done right, bringing an application to the web presents users of the new system with many usability issues. Typically web applications for data entry come in the form of text fields, checkboxes and radio buttons. Users can click their answer and navigate from question to question by scrolling up or down or clicking on a button to see the next page.

This process is suited for situations where the user is entering most of the information from memory, such as with a checkout from an online store, i.e. you always know your name, shipping and billing address.

In healthcare scenarios, often users are transcribing data from a paper sheet or from another system. This situation is common when the entire healthcare process is not electronic. Data on paper will get entered by a transcriptionist or clerk in batches. In such cases, the application needs to draw upon the strengths of the user. Transcriptionists are trained typists and efficiency gains can be observed if the application is able to draw on their typing ability. It is for this reason that web applications made for data entry specialists need to make exclusive use of keyboard entry. In this way, they can keep their eyes focused on what they are entering and not have to go back and forth between the paper and the computer screen. In such a case, the order of entry is important. The program must prompt the user in the same order as the questions appear on the paper form.

In other cases, when data arrives in a more real-time fashion, then the application can make use of the mouse in order to give the user more flexibility as to the order data is entered. In these cases, the users typically have more time and are using the application at the same time as interfacing with the patient. Speed and efficiency are not the main goals of the program in this case. Typical users which fall into this category are doctors, nurses and technologists.

With the different habits of users known, take special care to optimize how data is collected even in terms of which device is being used to perform the input. Don’t make the mistake of applying usual web practices for users who are not used to using the web for their jobs. The medium of ‘the web’ needs to be adapted to the users’ habits and not the other way around.