Abstract
The advent of Internet-based information systems has provided unprecedented opportunity for the widespread access to medical information. However, issues related to the evaluation of such systems to ensure their usability, effectiveness and to assess their effect on the provider-patient relationship pose a considerable challenge. This paper describes a framework for the distance evaluation of web-based information technologies. The methods are described in the context of an ongoing evaluation of a system known as PatCIS, designed to be accessed by patients from home for obtaining health information, and for management of chronic diseases. We employ a multi-method approach that involves collection of a rich data set, including Web-based questionnaires, automatic logging of user activity and e-mail communication with users. Our work in evaluation design is influenced from research in the areas of cognitive science and the field of usability engineering which aims to characterize the interaction of users with information technologies.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Cimino J. J., Socratous S. A. Just tell me what you want!: the promise and perils of rapid prototyping with the World Wide Web. Proc AMIA Annu Fall Symp. 1996:719–723. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Cork R. D., Detmer W. M., Friedman C. P. Development and initial validation of an instrument to measure physicians' use of, knowledge about, and attitudes toward computers. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 1998 Mar-Apr;5(2):164–176. doi: 10.1136/jamia.1998.0050164. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Felciano R. M., Altman R. B. Lamprey: tracking users on the World Wide Web. Proc AMIA Annu Fall Symp. 1996:757–761. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kushniruk A. W., Patel V. L., Cimino J. J. Usability testing in medical informatics: cognitive approaches to evaluation of information systems and user interfaces. Proc AMIA Annu Fall Symp. 1997:218–222. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kushniruk A., Patel V., Cimino J. J., Barrows R. A. Cognitive evaluation of the user interface and vocabulary of an outpatient information system. Proc AMIA Annu Fall Symp. 1996:22–26. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]