Advancing Patient Safety through the Creation of a Mobile Usability Lab

Abstract

The demand for usability testing is becoming increasingly important as healthcare moves toward a commitment to zero patient harm and higher value of care provided. Usability testing and simulation, techniques used in user-centered interaction design to evaluate healthcare systems, promote safe, high-quality care for patients. We propose the concept of a “Mobile Usability Lab”, a novel way to conduct usability testing system-wide. The Mobile Usability Lab describes a unique opportunity to step away from the standard state-of-the-art usability lab and take a creative approach to usability testing. To demonstrate the utility of this concept, we present a case study detailing a hospital-wide comparative device evaluation of new defibrillators. We recommend that research and clinical teams explore the concept of a mobile usability lab to evaluate products in the clinical environment. This work can reduce preventable harm through the optimization of health care delivery.