Comparing Computerized Physician Order Entry Usability between Expert and Novice Primary Care Physicians

Abstract

Objectives: To examine usability gaps between expert and novice primary care physicians when using computerized provider order entry (CPOE). Methods: To analyze usability gaps between ten novice and seven expert physicians, using the triangular method approach, usability tests involving video analysis were conducted. Results: While most novice physicians completed tasks less proficiently, and provided a lower System Usability Scale (SUS) score than expert physicians, the result of ‘percent task success rate’ (t(8) = 2.31, p=0.98) was not significant for both physician groups on all five tasks. Seven common and four unique usability issues were identified between the two physician groups. Three themes emerged during analysis: user interface issues, ambiguous terminologies, and training and education issues. Discussion and Conclusion: This study identified varying usability issues for users of CPOE with different expertise. Two additional iterations of the usability data collections are undergoing to uncover comprehensive usability issues and measure the learnability.