Accessibility of Electronic Health Records Ed Summers
Overview 1. Introduction 2. what is accessibility? 3. Who needs accessibility? 4. Reccomendations from real users of Electronic Health Records 5. Q&A
SAS Institute
SAS named #2 multinational workplace
SAS Usability Lab
SAS Accesibility Tribe The mission of the SAS accessibility tribe is to help users of all abilities suceed using SAS software. We also help SAS customers in the public and private sector comply with their disability-related legal obligations.
Accessibility of data visualizations
Accessibility is personal
What is accessibility? A product is accessible if it adapts to the needs of individual users.
Who needs accessibility? 1. Users with permanent disabilities 2. Users with temporary disabilities 3. Users with situational disabilities 4. Users with diminishing abilities
Age Gain Now Empathy System from MIT Age Lab
A closer look at AGNES 1. Yellow glasses simulate the natural yellowing of eyes, making it difficult to see contrast and small print, as well as difficulty seeing in low light 2. Earplugs simulate difficulty with high pitched sounds and soft tones 3. Gloves and braces simulate the reduced tactile sensation as well as decreased wrist strength and mobility 4. Bands connect the arm and waist reduce joint mobility in the shoulders, making it harder to reach above shoulder height 5. Helmet and band attachments simulate spinal compression and limit spinal rotation, giving the wearer a sense of curving of the spine that occurs with aging 6. A neck brace reduces cervical spine rotation and extension, simulating increased stiffness and causing the turning of one's head to be a full torso movement 7. Braces limit knee and elbow joint mobility, simulating joint stiffness, increased muscular fatigue, and slowed movements 8. Straps attached to the harness and shoes decrease hamstring flexibility and shortens gait, promoting slower, shorter, leg movements while walking 9. Custom shoes simulate the changes in our musco-skeletal system and inner ear that occurs with age, causing imbalance
Simulation of 20 versus 60 using ADesigner
Distribution of U.S. population by age in 2000
Source: U.S. Census, 2000
Median net worth of U.S. households in 2000
Source: Net Worth and Asset Ownership of Households: 1999 and 2000, U.S. Census Bureau
Do the math 1. The median net worth of baby boomers is astonishingly low 2. There are about 75 million baby boomers 3. Healthcare accounts for roughly 15% of U.S. Gross Domestic Product 4. Assume 15% of baby boomers are employed in the healthcare sector 5. 75,000,000 x 0.15 = 10,000,000 baby boomers with diminishing abilities that need to stay employed in the healthcare sector
How do we help users with diminishing abilities? 1. Customizable font size 2. Honor O/S color scheme by default 3. Additional color schemes with high contrast 4. Simple, uncluttered user interface 5. Keyboard accessibility
SAS Health Care Center
Recommendations from SAS Health Care Center staff 1. Include currently practicing clinicians in software development/testing to make products relevant to the real world of clinical practice 2. Use a larger font throughout the application or make it possible for each user to increase font size to meet their individual needs 3. Consider background and font colors for ease of viewing/use 4. Choose icons that make sense to clinicians, that are intuitive 5. Multiple windows should be able to be opened and remain open simultaneously 6. Include a robust search engine for FH, PMH, diagnosis, meds, labs, etc. 7. Decrease the number of ‘ click-throughs’ needed to get to the desired site in the application 8. Increase clinician training period included in initial EHR sale/license—these training periods tend to be too short, too fast-paced and too high-level for first time EHR users 9. Make it possible for clinicians to order items in all ‘ face sheet’ folders (especially Past History and Problem List) and have them remain ordered in the desired way when the record is closed and until/if the clinician decides to reorder
Questions or comments?
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