Assessing the cognitive and work load of an inpatient safety dashboard in the context of opioid management

Theresa E Fuller; Pamela M Garabedian; Demetri P Lemonias; Erin Joyce; Jeffrey L Schnipper; Elizabeth M Harry; David W Bates; Anuj K Dalal; James C Benneyan

doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2020.103047

Assessing the cognitive and work load of an inpatient safety dashboard in the context of opioid management

Appl Ergon. 2020 May:85:103047. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2020.103047. Epub 2020 Jan 31.

Authors

Theresa E Fuller¹, Pamela M Garabedian², Demetri P Lemonias³, Erin Joyce³, Jeffrey L Schnipper⁴, Elizabeth M Harry⁴, David W Bates⁵, Anuj K Dalal⁴, James C Benneyan⁶

Affiliations

¹ Healthcare Systems Engineering Institute, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
² Partners Healthcare, Incorporated, Boston, MA, USA.
³ Healthcare Systems Engineering Institute, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
⁴ Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁵ Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Partners Healthcare, Incorporated, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁶ Healthcare Systems Engineering Institute, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; College of Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: j.benneyan@northeastern.edu.

PMID: 32174343
DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2020.103047

Abstract

For health information technology to realize its potential to improve flow, care, and patient safety, applications should be intuitive to use and burden neutral for frontline clinicians. We assessed the impact of a patient safety dashboard on clinician cognitive and work load within a simulated information-seeking task for safe inpatient opioid medication management. Compared to use of an electronic health record for the same task, the dashboard was associated with significantly reduced time on task, mouse clicks, and mouse movement (each p < 0.001), with no significant increases in cognitive load nor task inaccuracy. Cognitive burden was higher for users with less experience, possibly partly attributable to usability issues identified during this study. Findings underscore the importance of assessing the usability, cognitive, and work load analysis during the design and implementation of health information technology applications.

Keywords: Cognitive load; Healthcare; NASA TLX; Patient safety.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

Adult
Analgesics, Opioid / therapeutic use
Electronic Health Records
Female
Health Personnel / psychology*
Humans
Male
Medication Therapy Management*
Patient Safety
Task Performance and Analysis
User-Computer Interface*
Work / psychology*
Workload / psychology*

Substances

Analgesics, Opioid