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In This Issue:  Letter From The President We're #1! Upcoming Events Past Events Advocacy GCC-HIMSS Sponsorship 2010 Spotlight on the Sponsor Spotlight on the Students Awards and Recognitions Professional DevelopmentLetter From The President Dear Greater Chicago Chapter of HIMSS Members – This has been an amazingly busy and outstanding spring for Chicago-area HIT professionals. In addition to the programs that GCC has been putting on the past few months, we had tremendous involvement in the HIMSS Annual Conference and of course there was the small matter of the GCC social at the Conference! I would like to extend my sincere thanks to our Board of Directors for working so hard to keep the educational programs rolling (in new and creative ways) and still work towards the major events such as Annual Conference and the social. I’d also like to take a moment and thank our Chicago and Illinois-based leadership for participating in our 2nd Annual CIO Outreach program. In early May we hosted over 15 CIOs for a dinner and discussion. The intent is to engage senior leadership support for our efforts and to get their perspectives on valuable topics and programs. This year’s event was bigger than last years and we appreciate their support. Even with all of this activity I think you’ll find in this newsletter that the GCC Board still has plenty to accomplish and we hope that all of our members attend our upcoming events (see below). In addition to our programs, we also have elections quickly approaching. Please consider this a call to all GCC members to serve on our Board or Committees and be an even greater part of this organization. GCC has outstanding members and is one of the best chapters in the country. From that membership we try to draw some of the best HIT professionals to the GCC Board and this is what keeps us ahead of the other chapters and successful year after year. If you’re interested please read more below. I’ve also included some of my thoughts on upcoming programs and social events. Please take a look, and as always thank you for your membership and your engagement in the chapter. I look forward to seeing you at our next event. • GCC Board Member Elections – Being a member of the GCC Board can be rewarding no matter how many years you’ve been a member of HIMSS. Our Board currently has a dynamic mix of newer and more experienced HIMSS members. From this combination we draw new ideas and best practices. If you are a GCC member please consider the Board of Directors as an opportunity to expand your skills and network, but most importantly it gives you an opportunity to influence the direction of our programs and chapter. The positions open this year are the President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, Communications Chair, Student Liaison and four Member-at-Large positions. Please visit the GCC website to find details on terms and eligibility requirements. • Educational “Roundtable” Programs – GCC is always working to improve our educational program delivery methods. A new idea this year was to provide smaller, more conversational “roundtable” presentations and discussions. The hope would be to attract HIT practitioners who could share organizational experiences and lessons learned. This format hopefully would engage everyone in the room and give all attendees the opportunity to share their thoughts. The first program of this type was “Personal Health Records” and had 50 attendees. Encouraged by this success we decided to have another program in this format. Our next program was “How to Measure and Improve Usability in HIT” with excellent presenters, panelists and discussion facilitators. This event had 65 attendees and was at the beautiful, Columbia Yacht Club. Please see below or visit our website for further details of upcoming programs. • M2M Connected World this program is free for GCCHIMSS members. M2M Connected World 2009 will be held June 9-12 at the Hilton Chicago, on the Magnificent Mile. Please see a more detailed description of this program in the newsletter under “Upcoming Events”. • GCC Summer Social – The Board is currently reviewing options for this year’s Summer Social event. While not final, it looks like we may try to mix it up and try something new. Rest assured the event will be one not to miss. Joel A. Splan President, Greater Chicago Chapter of HIMSS Director, Information Services Northwestern Memorial Hospital 312.926.7833 We're #1! Greater Chicago Chapter Ranks #1 in number of members! A recent report from the HIMSS Membership database lists GCC HIMSS as the chapter with the greatest number of members. As of May 4, 2009, the chapter members number 1,772. Membership in the chapter is up over 500 members since May of 2008. Where did new members come from? Over 300 of the new members are the result of the new Organizational Affiliate program. This program allows an organization to join HIMSS. Employees of the organization can then join HIMSS as members through the affiliation. Learn more about the Organizational Affiliate program at http://www.himss.org/ASP/orgAffiliate.asp. Student members, Regular Individual Members, and Chapter only member categories all increased by 50 over last year. A belated, but warm welcome to all our new members! Visit our chapter web site at http://www.gcchimss.net. Upcoming Events M2M Connected World 2009 Members of the Greater Chicago Chapter of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society can attend M2M Connected World for free. M2M Connected World 2009 will be held June 9th - 12th at the Hilton Chicago, on the Magnificent Mile. See healthcare technology solutions first-hand and talk with vendors, researchers, and professors who are creating these new technologies. Scheduled speakers include MedApps, a company that provides wireless health monitoring systems; Hill-Rom, which designs intelligent hospital beds; and a University of Iowa professor who helped develop and implement a wireless hand-hygiene monitoring system. GCC HIMSS members can attend the conference sessions and view the exhibit hall at no charge. This offer is valid for members until June 3, 2009. Register today and enter in promotion code “GCCHIMSS” to receive this discount. To register, go to http://www.m2mmag.com/connected_world/registration.aspx. For questions, please contact Lynn Wasserman at +1 630.933.0844 ext. 249. ________________________________ Save the Date 4th Annual GCC and Dairyland NI Symposium Date: October 9, 2009 Location: Kenosha, WI at the Radisson Conference Center Theme: "Nursing Informatics: Creating a Better Tomorrow" Watch for more information! 2009 Board Elections It is Board member election time again! This year there are nine Board positions to be filled. They are: President-Elect (1 year term) Secretary (2 year term) Treasurer (2 year term) Communications Chair (2 year term) Member at-Large (1 year term) Member-at-Large (1 year term) Member at-Large (1 year term) Member-at-Large (1 year term) Student Liaison (1 year term) Eligibility: Members who are elected to the Board must be active, dues-paid members of National HIMSS who have completed one (1) year of membership. Nominees for President-Elect must have held a position on the Board in at least one of the immediately three (3) prior years. Term of Office: The tenure of elected Officers shall commence July 1st through an election process. President-Elect, President, and Immediate Past President are each one-year terms that are served consecutively. The term of President is effectively 3 years with one year in each position. A President-Elect will be elected each year. Member-at-Large positions will be elected each year for one-year terms. All other officers’ terms shall be two years. All officers, except President, may serve in the same position for two (2) consecutive terms. If you are interested in one of the open positions and meet the eligibility requirements, please send your name, current employer, contact information, and a brief (1/2 to 1 page) bio to Brigid Donohue at bdonohu@emhc.org by May 29, 2009. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at 309-268-2030 or vvitali@bromenn.org. Thank you and we look forward to your participation in our Chapter. Best regards, Vincent S. Vitali Past President GCC-HIMSS ______________________________________ President Elect - Assists the President in conducting the business affairs and activities of the chapter through special assignments and duties delegated at the direction of the President and/or the Board. Act in the President’s absence in Chapter relationships with other related professional societies and is a member of the Nominating Committee and the chair of the Membership Committee. Will assume the office of the President upon conclusion of the one-year term as President-Elect. May be required to complete the unfulfilled term of the current President due to resignation or special circumstances. Secretary - The Secretary shall be responsible for maintaining all Chapter records, including minutes of Board meetings. Participates in the annual election by validating the proposed ballot. The Secretary and Immediate Past President shall be jointly responsible for receiving and counting the votes cast in any election. Treasurer - The Treasurer shall assist the President in the future development and direction of the Chapter and perform such other duties as may be assigned by the President or the Board. The Treasurer will maintain all financial records and manage all cash and bank accounts of the Chapter. Prepare regular reports on the Chapter’s financial position for the Board. Prepare the Chapter budget for the upcoming fiscal year.Prepare and submit all necessary income reports to the State and the Internal Revenue Service. Communications Program Chair -The Communications Program Chair shall be responsible for the preparation and distribution of all Chapter publications, including a Chapter newsletter that shall be published on at least a quarterly basis. The Communications Program Chair shall also be responsible for maintaining the content of the Chapter website, communicating Chapter business to other individuals and groups, and promoting the Chapter in professional journals and with other professional groups. Member-at-Large -There shall be four (4) Member-at-Large positions. Their responsibilities include working closely with the Education Program Chair, the Communications Chair and the Sponsorship Chair and assisting the Board with other special projects as needed. Members-at-large may also fill National liaison roles, such as the Advocacy National Liaison and RHIO Federation Liaison. Student Liaison - Develop and maintain key contact list of program administrators and professors at local institutions. Keep administrators and professors aware of GCHIMSS with quarterly updates of activities, opportunities for student involvement, and scholarship opportunities. If invited, attend seminars or beginning of class periods of relevant programs to inform students of CGHIMSS opportunities. Investigate member interest in mentorship program to increase value to student members. Create and maintain 1-page fact sheet about student member opportunities in GCC HIMSS/HIMSS. Past Events CIO Roundtable Dinner The GCC HIMSS Board hosted its 2nd Annual CIO Provider Outreach Dinner on May 7, 2009 at Ditka's Oakbrook Terrace. The objectives of this meeting were: 1) For GCC HIMSS to learn how to bring more value to our members through our programs; 2) To strengthen ties between GCC HIMSS and the local provider organizations we serve; and 3) To provide an informal atmosphere for the CIOs to meet, get to know, and share challenges and opportunities with their local peers. The dinner was a great success with over a dozen CIOs attending and providing valuable input to the board. Many CIOs who were able to join us this year had attended our first dinner held in May 2008 and we welcomed several newcomers as well. After a quick review of the GCC HIMSS chapter accomplishments for the year, we had open discussion over dinner about how to enhance our programs and bring more value to our members. We received some new and interesting ideas for structuring our programs, different audiences to target, topics to cover, how to expand our outreach to colleges and universities, and continue to increase our student membership. Thank you to all of the CIOs that were able to attend or have provided input since. Your feedback and support are critical to the success of our chapter! GCCHIMSS Annual Social Event The GCC HIMSS Social Event has always been a popular event at the HIMSS Annual Conference drawing attendees from the chapter as well as former members who come back to see old friends. This year's social event, held at McCormick place was the biggest event ever. Over 280 people came to reconnect, network, eat, drink, and be merry. Joel Splan, Greater Chicago Chapter President, thanked our guests and the Elite Vendor Sponsors for their support of the chapter. iPod shuffles and an iPod touch were awarded to 3 lucky attendees in a raffle at the end of the evening. It’s an event you don't want to miss next year in Atlanta! “How to Measure and Improve Usability in HIT” The Greater Chicago Chapter of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society held an educational and interactive program with a focus on measuring and improving usability in HIT on May 21st from 6:00pm – 8:30 pm, at the Columbia Yacht Club. Attendees learned from a panel of experts what usability is and what it is not, the history and fundamentals of usability and ‘human factors’, and some perspectives on usability in HIT today. In addition, the presenters discussed examples and standards work from medical devices, and how HIT can benefit from this expertise. Usability and human factors are applied sciences grounded in psychology, anthropology, and industrial engineering. National and international standards bodies (e.g., ISO, NIST) define usability as follows: “Usability is the effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with which the intended users can achieve their tasks in the intended context of product use.” There are valid and reliable methods for measuring user performance with systems. For those involved with HIT, there is much to learn from other industries around methods to measure and improve user’s effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with the user interface. Our panel of experts included presentations by Robert Schumacher, PhD, Managing Director and Edmond Israelski, PhD, Human Factors Program Manager. Panel Discussion was further facilitated by Dale Sanders, VP, CIO Northwestern Memorial Faculty Foundation; David Liebovitz, MD, CMIO, Northwestern Memorial Hospital; and Lyle Berkowitz, MD, FHIMSS, Northwestern Memorial Faculty Foundation “Personal Health Records” The Greater Chicago Chapter of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society held a discussion group on Personal Health Records. The event was held March 10th from 6:00pm – 8:00pm downtown Chicago. Attendees enjoyed a great opportunity to interact with experts in the field to discuss and learn more about Personal Health Records: their implementation, ethical considerations, privacy considerations, and effects on patients, physicians, and the patient-physician relationship. Following the presentations, attendees broke out into small discussion groups to discuss how their organizations handle the Personal Health Records initiatives. “The Road to CIO” Have you wondered what career paths lead to becoming a healthcare CIO? What the biggest challenges and rewards are? What’s anticipated for the future of the role? A roundtable discussion by area healthcare CIOs was conducted for our downstate chapter members to discuss these and other related topics. There was ample time for audience Q&A, networking, and one-on-one personal discussions regarding individuals own career paths or the direction of the healthcare industry. Moderator Ralph Wakerly used his real world experience in healthcare marketing, career coaching, and strategic planning to generate and focus the discussion around topics to benefit all levels of healthcare and IT staff. CIO Panelists were: • Jennifer S. Clyatt, Proctor Hospital, Peoria • Dennis P. L'Heureux, Rockford Health System, Rockford • Ellen Swoger; Methodist Medical Center of Illinois, Peoria • Vince Vitali; BroMenn Healthcare, Normal The event was held Thursday, January 29, 2009 at BroMenn Regional Medical Center. The panel is open to other events for the downstate chapters. Advocacy Health System reform is progressing in Congress, and is expected to be finalized by the August break. Members are encouraged to review a publication by the finance committee of the Senate, regarding: Transforming the Health Care Delivery System: Proposals to Improve Patient Care and Reduce Health Care Costs http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/leg/LEG%202009/042809%20Health%20Care%20Description%20of%20Policy%20Option.pdf Proposals in this document are organized into the following categories: Section I Payment Reform – Improving Quality and Promoting Primary Care Section II Payment Reform – Fostering Care Coordination and Provider Collaboration Section III Health Care Infrastructure Investments – Tools to Support Delivery System Reform Section IV Medicare Advantage – Promoting Quality, Efficiency and Chronic Care Management Section V Public Program Integrity – Combating Fraud, Waste and Abuse -------------------- Members are also encouraged to keep abreast of the ARRA. Past webinars are available on the website, and two future webinars are scheduled. http://www.himss.org/EconomicStimulus/webinars.htm Funding, Grants and Loans: Positioning Your Organization for Success (A two-part series) Free for members, 99$ for non-members Part I – Good News! We've Been Funded! What's Next? May 27, 2009 Part II - How ARRA will Change the Provider-Payer Relationship? June 3, 2009 Illinois Stimulus Money Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn launched a website created to share information about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, so that Illinois can capture and use its fair share of federal stimulus funds. Recovery.Illinois.gov <http://recovery.illinois.gov/>. On Feb. 4, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed SB 1132 into law, appropriating $3 million to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) to establish a program for statewide health information exchange (HIE). http://www.himss.org/himssweeklyinsider/himssweeklyinsider.asp?date=20090318&anchor=whatsnew2 GCC-HIMSS Sponsorship 2010 We are excited to announce the start of the FY10 sponsorship for the Greater Chicago Chapter of HIMSS in June. This year more than ever is going to be a great year for our local chapter as we just became the largest chapter in the nation! The sponsorship program offers a lot of great opportunities for you and your company to get engaged with one of the largest local chapters of HIMSS in the country. In the past we have presented programs involving the road to a CIO and discussing National agenda's, webinars discussing emerging trends, and strategies for EHR adoption in Physician Practices just to name a few. These programs have continued to grow in size and we now average 100 people per program. They are great for marketing your company, networking, and really reaching out to a large healthcare community. There are various levels to our programs developed in such manner to be flexible to your companies marketing goals. We are hoping that you will consider joining a fun, energetic and passionate community to not only market your company but offer concepts about healthcare IT that people may not know about. We are confident you and your company will enjoy the benefits of GCC-HIMSS. We look forward to hearing from you and please don't hesitate to contact Corey Gaarde, our Sponsorship Chair at cgaarde@burwood.com at any time to discuss the opportunity further. Spotlight on the Sponsor - Burwood Group, Inc. Taking on Healthcare Challenges with HIMSS
“As an Elite Sponsor since 2008, I am excited to have the opportunity to support the great, collaborative forums HIMSS provides for members,” says Jim Hart, Senior Vice President and co-owner of Burwood Group. “We were proud to be a sponsor for events like the Greater Chicago Chapter reception at the National HIMSS conference. The local events provide an excellent opportunity to share challenges and solutions healthcare IT organizations face to improve care. Burwood has delivered insight and facilitated advancements in over 50 healthcare institutions across the country. Over 32% of the hospitals in Chicagoland are clients. With each of our clients, our expertise has dramatically impacted the way technology delivers information, improving patient experience and patient care. Burwood helps institutions adopt advanced IT infrastructure solutions and adapt their organizations to deliver care at levels patients and organizations expect. Burwood Group is engaged in the current efforts to standardize healthcare information technology at a national level. Team members actively participate in national discussions regarding HIT policy development, application and disbursement structure for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act pertaining to HIT, and white paper development for adoption of IT for all healthcare organizations. Burwood is proud to act as a voice to the communities it serves, carrying real-life experience from local engagements to our governmental decision makers. Burwood Group is represented nationally in the following mediums: • National Alliance for Health Information Technology (NAHIT) – Board Member – Effective C-team Leadership Work Group Member – Health IT Leadership Work Group Member • Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) – Security Workgroup Member • American Hospital Association (AHA) – Strategic Wireless Consulting Endorsed Partner • Partnership with Loyola School of Nursing for Clinical Technology Adoption, Workflow Enhancement and Efficiency Improvement • Post-Katrina Public Healthcare Recovery • Burwood Healthcare IT Leaders Forum “I have been on the Chapter Board of Directors with GCC-HIMSS for six years,” said Corey Gaarde, consultant for Burwood Group and the GCC-HIMSS Sponsorship Chair. “I have a real passion for improving healthcare with IT and I am pleased to be working for an organization that shares that enthusiasm with me.” Our Healthcare Focus • Driving HIT cost efficiency • Improving technology collaboration and adoption at the point of care • Advancing clinical connectivity • Protecting the security and integrity of your organization and patients • Ensuring that your organization, processes, and technology are prepared to support critical bedside applications • Improving clinical productivity, asset tracking and patient flow with RFID • Providing clinicians secure, anywhere/anytime access to critical information About Burwood Group Burwood Group is a technology consulting firm that specializes in IT management and infrastructure solutions. Our focus areas include: IT Operations Management, Data Center and Infrastructure Optimization, Convergence and Collaboration, IT Financial Optimization, and Business Risk Mitigation. We partner with leading technology and service organizations to provide tailored product and vertical industry solutions. We work to ensure an optimal fit for each individual client. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, we serve local, national, and international clients. Burwood prides itself in being a trusted business advisor to clients by delivering innovative solutions and superior quality through the employment of exceptional people. Headquarters: 20 N. Clark St. Suite 1950 Chicago, IL 60602 877 - BURWOOD healthcare@burwood.com www.burwood.com Spotlight on the Students “My experience as a HIMSS Member – Why you should get involved!” I am a student member of HIMSS as well as the Greater Chicago Chapter of HIMSS in Chicago. I joined HIMSS a year ago but I feel as though I have been a member for many years now. This is by far one of the best professional organizations in field of health care information management. My experience as a student member has been profound and one that I would want to share with other HIMSS members and students who wish to be a part of HIMSS. Not a week passes by without an email from HIMSS or the partners and sponsors of HIMSS with either an important policy change, manifesto’s to congress, a newsletter, a free webinar, or information on the latest events and the developments in Health IT. There is an immense scope and potential for learning and growing professionally with HIMSS while having fun as well. The experience of learning in academic environment needs to be complemented with the knowledge acquired through professional organizations like HIMSS. The academic teaching cannot catch up with industry developments and that is where HIMSS plays its role of becoming a huge information resource. Being a Physician and a public health professional as well, I have enjoyed the access to this resource and I feel that this has helped me a lot in my studies and my career transition to Health IT. The HIMSS website is polished, professionally designed and easy to navigate. There are many useful sections like News and Research where the latest news, industry reports, analytics and research grant opportunities are listed. The section on Topics and Tools, provide in depth information on selected few topics like Electronic Health Record, HITSP, patient safety and quality measures, etc. The most important section as a student is professional development where information on various sources for education in health information management, scholarship awards, career services and the Job Mine can be found. The Job Mine is a great tool and is a place to look for jobs in HIM as well as health care IT. Posting a resume online increases chances of getting a dream job and must be used by all students. The local chapter of HIMSS is a very active and all the board members are truly professional. There are at least two to three events organized for professional development and continuing education credit. There are many small informal events organized for meet and greet and to have a discussion on specific topic. There are two annual socials which are a great place to network with the members and make connections which can help students to seek jobs and a mentor. There are two scholarship awards of $2,500 for students who are currently seeking education in the area of health care information management, informatics, administration and other related areas. These awards are very competitive and all students must make a sincere effort to get them. Within few weeks of becoming a member, an election was declared for the board members of the GCC-HIMSS. There was a position for student liaison and I decided to nominate myself for this position. Luckily, I was elected on the board and ever since, I have been talking and networking with students and faculty to join HIMSS. The fellow board members including President, Joel Splan are holding top tier positions in their respective organizations. With them, they bring their knowledge and professional attitude to this chapter which makes it one of the best in entire mid west region. In my role as a Student Liaison, I am constantly in touch with students from engineering, MIS, computer science, public health, nursing and health care informatics. I encourage all of them to join HIMSS and be a part of this growing community. The time is opportune in wake of the latest developments in the Health IT policy in USA and the encouraging role played by the new administration under President Obama. The price for a national HIMSS membership with a local chapter membership is just $30 and it pays for itself by attending a single event organized by HIMSS. Students are provided with free access to most of the webinars, local events, journal subscriptions and research reports which otherwise cost a lot. The benefits of membership outweigh the cost of it manifold and I request students to seriously consider becoming a member of HIMSS and GCC-HIMSS. Kshitij Naval, MD, MS is a graduate from University of Illinois at Chicago and has a keen interest in the design and development of Health care information systems. He is currently working as a consultant and an Instructor at UIC. He is an active GCC-HIMSS board member since June 2008. Please feel free to contact him via email at knaval14@gmail.com to learn more about GCC-HIMSS. Security, privacy, functionality - you have it! Now, can you use it? smyers@usercentric.com Have you ever had difficulty figuring out which way to open a door? “Do I push it, pull it, slide it? I just can’t tell by the design and now I’m feeling a bit foolish staring at this door!” Have you ever been able to master the workings of your refrigerator/freezer temperature controls, the myriad of combination settings on your washing machine, or your new Blackberry cell phone and the set up to automatically synch with your Outlook? If not, you are certainly not alone. Products that are intuitive to use do not come to market by luck. It takes specialized knowledge and focused research to design a product that people can understand and use. There are fields of study (e.g. human factors, cognitive psychology, anthropology) and experts who observe and measure the ‘usability’ of everyday things. Some focus on how we use products such as remote controls, appliances, and doors. Others focus more directly on how humans interact with computers and other technologies. The concept of researching users in their everyday environments and conducting ‘usability’ studies to measure and improve how we use products and technologies has been around for quite some time. It has been embraced by industries such as communications, aviation, and medical devices. Even the fast-food industry has invested significant research into the design and usability of their point of sale systems which offer flexibility to the customer as well as increased efficiency during the ordering process. Historically, we have not seen this same amount of rigor put in to measuring HIT system usability and optimizing user interfaces. Undoubtedly, HIT solution providers have invested significant effort into designing systems that provide a required level of security and privacy and that also provide the needed functionality to support frequent and life-critical tasks of their key users. Furthermore, significant thought has also been invested in how to best to support the user by capturing and displaying information electronically and in meaningful ways that can improve and streamline the decision-making process. Nevertheless, significant challenges still exist in designing EHR systems that are truly easy to use, intuitive, and return real value in the form of decision support, intelligence, data aggregation, meaningful display, and ultimately support improvements in patient care. There is substantial anecdotal evidence and a growing list of peer-reviewed published research that show poor usability is a key barrier to the adoption of EHR systems. Systems that are perceived as overly time-consuming or difficult to use also have a negative impact on the quality of healthcare data entered by healthcare providers Many of you are currently using, implementing, or planning for EHRs with the goal to streamline processes and improve quality of care in your clinical practices. Given the complexity of EHR systems today, it is critical that they are easy to use to ensure safety and to enable clinicians to focus on their patients rather than on their EHR. In instances where clinical needs call for truly different processes (e.g. different specialty needs, e.g. endocrinology- insulin sliding scale dosing, cardiology- anticoagulation clinic and Coumadin dosing), the system design and flow must provide the flexibility necessary to support those differences. As is often the case, this increased flexibility also creates the potential for usability issues. To that end, EHRs must be designed and built for flexible, efficient, and error-free use. They must return real value and support the end user’s goals. Otherwise, they are essentially data-entry systems with very little information or intelligence provided back to the user. The good news is that with research methods already on hand, EHR usability can be measured, tracked, and improved today. Coupled with health care domain experts, human factors and user-research experts will be able to provide the critical tools, methods, and knowledge to effectively study how humans are interacting with the systems. As a team they posses more expansive knowledge to understand the combinations of user workflow and goals (operational as well as clinical) and the UI design needed to support the safest and highest quality patient care possible. The goal of human factors research and ‘user-centered design’ is to understand what users do, why they do it, how they do it, and then provide recommendations for the improvement of technology and systems to support end-user needs and goals. The use of health care IT designed in the absence of such input by the actual users may well lead to greater errors, more stress, and lower productivity. For example, a 2005 JAMA study highlighted a number of new risks for medication errors introduced when an electronic prescribing system was implemented. Many of these potential errors were the result of usability problems with the interface. In a clinical environment, these errors can have very serious or even lethal implications. One such study showed that a widely used CPOE system facilitated 22 types of medication error risks. Examples include fragmented CPOE displays that prevent a coherent view of patients’ medications, pharmacy inventory displays mistaken for dosage guidelines, ignored antibiotic renewal notices placed on paper charts rather than in the CPOE system, separation of functions that facilitate double dosing and incompatible orders, and inflexible ordering formats generating wrong orders (Koppel, 2005). Many of these error risks were only identified after both qualitative and quantitative research with focus groups, expert interviews, surveys and shadowing users. Targeted human factors research can help to determine: • High-volume, efficient workflow that should be supported by EHR systems • Current and prospective usability issues faced by clinical team members during patient care activities • Real-world impact of EHR systems on clinical resources and quality of healthcare data • Trouble spots on EHR workflow and major interface issues Examples of proven user research methods from the behavioral sciences: • Workflow analysis and end-user interviews – to ensure accuracy of mental models • Time and motion performance analysis – to measure efficient user performance • Eye-tracking – to measure perception and attention • Quality surveys – to assess end-user satisfaction and confidence As most are aware, many EHR deployments do not always go smoothly and often times result in low adoption rates or sometimes fail altogether. There are various reasons for this, but one at the top of the list is poor user interface/application flow designs or the poor fit between design with a specific use context. It has been shown through research that clinicians demonstrate consistent patterns when navigating through the EHR to perform different clinical tasks (Zheng, 2009). Some of these patterns were unanticipated, significantly deviating from the ideal patterns according to the system’s original design principles. Better understanding the nature of this deviation can help to identify undesirable user behavior and/or design deficiencies, informing corrective actions such as more focused user training or continued system and UI redesign. Samples of common UI and content problems: User Interface Problems Display Visibility Navigation Data Entry Location Procedure Speed Attention Content Problems Database Content Inappropriate Default Training Manual Deficiency It is wise for EHR users to develop close relationships with their solution partners and continually provide feedback around usability and demand improvements if necessary. This conversation is more effective when the implications of such change are also discussed. In addition, consider inviting product managers and developers to spend time at your organization and observe the users in their daily environments and routines as this does not occur nearly as much as it should in the development lifecycle. By placing greater emphasis on and investment in usability during product design and testing, you can ensure that usability problems are addressed prior to system deployment and potential negative impact on patient care. So, the next time you find yourself using a new technology and thinking “This was so easy to use!” – remember that there is a lot of research and effort put forth to understand how you, the consumer, will use it. References: Koppel, R. (2005). Role of Computerized Physician Order Entry Systems in Facilitating Medication Errors. JAMA, 293(10), 1197-1203. Kushniruk, A. (2008). Combining Two Forms of Simulation to Predict the Potential Impact of Interface Design on Technology-induced Error in Healthcare. 17th Annual International Conference on Health Sciences Simulation (ICHSS'08). 497-504. Zheng, K. (2009). An Interface-driven Analysis of User Interactions with an Electronic Health Records System. JAMIA, 16:228-237. Awards and Recognitions HIMSS would like make sure you're aware that a few of our Greater Chicago members are being recognized this year for their service to the industry and the society. John R. Freeman, PhD, LFHIMSS is receiving the Lifetime Member Award and Margaret Amatayakul, RHIA, CHPS, FHIMSS, is the receiving the Board of Directors Service Award. Click Here to read the press release announcing all HIMSS 2008 Awards Recipients. Recipients will be honored at the Awards Banquet in conjunction with the HIMSS09 Annual Conference. Illinois Women's Health Registry Today I enrolled in the Illinois Women's Health Registry, why don't you check it out? The Illinois Women's Health Registry is available to all female Illinois residents over the age of 18! To enroll, you can visit https://whr.northwestern.edu or call 800.984.IWHR to request a paper version. The Institute for Women's Health Research at Northwestern University has created the Registry to improve our understanding of why women's health in Illinois ranks 33rd in the nation. The Registry survey will help to track general health trends over time and will identify groups of women who are interested in participating in important research that will advance women's health in our state. By joining the Registry you will be asked to complete a confidential health survey that contains questions regarding your environment, health-related behaviors, health symptoms, family history of disease and any illnesses or conditions you may have now or have had in the past. All information will be stored on a secured server with SSL encryption - the same level of security used for banking and healthcare sites. If we are truly committed to improving our knowledge about women's health for ourselves, our spouses, our daughters, our granddaughters and future generations, then tools like this Registry are critical to assist researchers find the answers. Professional Development Have You Ever…? How to become a Senior Member HIMSS or even a HIMSS Fellow Have you ever graduated from college? Held a job in the healthcare information technology field? Gained an advanced certification? Presented at or attended a conference or program? Participated in a committee, workgroup or on your chapter board? If you recognize yourself in any of these questions, you may already qualify for Senior Member or Fellow status in HIMSS. To be a Senior member requires 100 points, and 200 points are necessary for Fellow status. Here’s a quick breakdown of a small, representative sample of your point opportunities. Bachelor’s Degree: 5 pts Master’s Degree: 10 pts CPHIMS Certification: 25 pts Other Professional Certification: 15 pts National HIMSS membership: 2 pts per year Managerial, Associate Professor, or Supervisory positions: 4 pts per year Senior Executive positions: 8 pts per year HIMSS Annual Conference Workshop Presentation presenter: 10-25 pts Article in national or chapter HIMSS newsletter or bulletin: 3 pts HIMSS attendance at Annual Conference: 5 pts per year Attendance at HIMSS Chapter Camp: 3 pts HIMSS chapter participation: President 20 pts HIMSS chapter participation: Committee Member 5 pts Please refer to the online application at http://surveys.himss.org/Checkbox/Survey.aspx?surveyid=1003 and full description of Senior Member and Fellow program at http://www.himss.org/content/files/senior_app.pdf for further information. Chapter related questions can be directed to gcchimss@gmail.com and national questions can be directed to advancement@himss.org. |
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