A computer supported memory aid for copying prescription parameters into medical equipment based on linguistic phrases

Manually operated medical equipment, including drug infusion pumps, are often subject to input errors. Human operators copy data from a prescription into the relevant form field on the equipment panels. This process is error prone and time consuming. A computer supported memory aid is proposed where the user remembers phrases instead of value sequences. The proposed strategy speeds up the task of setting up medical equipment while reducing the chances of human errors

An error tolerant memory aid for reduced cognitive load in number copying tasks

Number copying tasks are still common despite increased digitalization of services. Number copying tasks are cognitively and visually demanding, errors are easily introduced and the process is often perceived as laborious. This study proposes an alternative scheme based on dictionary coding that reduces the cognitive load on the user by a factor of five. The strategy has several levels of error detection and error correction characteristics and is easy to implemen

Errordiary: Support for Teaching Human Error

Understanding human error is an important part of making good choices about interaction design. In this paper we report an innovative approach to the teaching of human error. Errordiary is an online repository of the funny, frustrating and sometimes fatal human errors that happen on a daily basis. Students engage with these real-life cases of human error and are challenged to classify them. This raises awareness of everyday human error, teaches students about the psychology of human error, and gives students the experience of dealing with the difficulties of applying classification schemes to real world data

A case for Number Entry

The field of text entry has long been focused on purely alphabetical text entry, concentrating on language typing tasks and paying little attention to the task of number entry. Not only does number entry often require a different interface from text entry, it is also subject to different errors and phenomena from text entry. Number entry occurs in many domains in the real world and for this reason this paper argues that more attention needs to be paid to this niche area of text entry

The Effect Of Interface Type On Visual Error Checking Behavior

During data entry tasks, small errors can result in catastrophe, for instance adding an extra zero to a drug dose when programming an infusion in a hospital. For this reason understanding users’ error checking behavior is highly important. One aspect that can affect error checking is the interface that a user must interact with to enter data. Often user interaction with interfaces is evaluated based on speed or error rate. In this paper, in addition to this, we also explore how different types of interface can affect a user’s error checking behavior in a multitasking environment. We show that a fast to use and familiar interface discourages users from carrying out thorough visual checking in a number transcription task. We also found that having participants perform an additional secondary task while doing the number entry task made participants less likely to check the inputted numbers for errors

Tailoring number entry interfaces to the task of programming medical infusion pumps

Medical devices are often used to administer medication to patients. This task usually requires a caregiver to enter specific numerical values into a device. In such safety-critical domains, it is vital that this task can be done quickly and accurately. We consider whether tailoring the interface to make it easier for commonly entered numbers to be inputted makes this task faster and less error-prone. To evaluate this idea we take data from infusion pumps programmed on the ward and make adaptations to three existing interfaces to make the task easier (by adding buttons or altering the effects of interaction). The results of a lab-based experiment show that tailoring the interface in this way can significantly reduce the number of key presses that are required to complete the task. We also present findings regarding the process of tailoring interfaces for more general device design. Copyright 2013 by Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Inc

Designing Devices With the Task in Mind: Which Numbers Are Really Used in Hospitals?

Objective: We studied the patterns of digits and numbers used when programming infusion pumps with the aim of informing the design of number entry interfaces. Background: Number entry systems on medical devices are designed with little thought given to the numbers that will be entered. In other fields, text and number entry interfaces are designed specifically for the task that they will be used for. Doing so allows for faster and more accurate interaction. Method: In Study 1, logs were taken from infusion pumps used in a hospital. Information about the numbers being typed was extracted. For Study 2, three common number entry interfaces were evaluated in light of these results to determine which were best suited to the task of programming infusions. Results: There are clear patterns in the numbers being used in hospitals. The digit 0 is used far more frequently than any other digit. The numbers 1,000, 100, and 50 are used in nearly half of all infusions. Study 2 demonstrates that interfaces are not optimized for entering such data. Conclusion: Changes could be made to the design of the number entry interface on infusion pumps,leading to a reduction in the number of key presses necessary to program a device.We offer a set of four heuristics to guide the design of number entry interfaces on infusion devices. Application: Improving the design of the number entry interface of medical devices, such as infusion pumps, would lead to improved efficiency and a reduction in the likelihood of errors