Impact of the ambulatory surgery system on the usability of a home medical device for post-operative follow-up: a mixed-method study in simulation

Abstract

Usability of home use medical devices is complex, multidimensional and multifactorial. The design of such devices must accommodate a range of users, including patients, caregivers, and hospital staff, as well as the potential impact of human-human interaction through the device. In this study, we analyse the impact of the hospital context on the usability of a medical device used for post-ambulatory monitoring. We enrolled 28 patients and 20 student physicians in an ambulatory surgery system simulation. After the simulation, we conducted both focus groups and interviews to gather both quantitative and qualitative data to measure the usability of the medical device. The results show that exchanges during the consultation with the anaesthetist have a definite impact on the device’s usability by modifying the user’s perceived risk. Even if the device is intuitive to use, its usability is dependent on the context of use and the projection of the users.