New AHRQ-Funded Report Provides Snapshot of Electronic Health Record (EHR) Vendor Usability Processes and Practices

Electronic Health Record Usability: Vendor Practices and Perspectives   provides insight into the current processes, practices, and perspectives of certified EHR vendors with regard to key aspects of the usability of their products including:

• The existence and use of standards and "best practices" in designing, developing, and deploying products
• Testing and evaluating usability throughout the product life cycle
• Supporting postdeployment monitoring to ensure patient safety and effective use
• The role of certification in evaluating and improving usability

Other AHRQ-Funded Reports on the Usability of Electronic Health Record (EHR) Systems

To explore the opportunity to improve EHR system usability, AHRQ also commissioned the creation of two reports that synthesize the existing research and evidence in this area and suggest common methods to evaluate EHR usability going forward.

• Electronic Health Record Usability: Evaluation and Use Case Framework  synthesizes the literature and best practices regarding the usability of EHRs, and it provides a set of use cases to evaluate information design in primary care IT systems.
• Electronic Health Record Usability: Interface Design Considerations  provides recommended actions to support the development of an objective EHR usability evidence base and formative policies to systematically improve the usability of EHR systems.