Human Factors Engineering in the Department of Veterans Affairs: Operations and Research Initiatives Related to Healthcare Information Technology and Medical Devices

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janine A. Purcell ◽  
Linda Williams ◽  
Jeanie Scott ◽  
Alissa L. Russ ◽  
Frank Drews ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Medical Devices ◽  
Veterans Affairs ◽  
Healthcare Information Technology ◽  
Human Factors Engineering ◽  
Department Of Veterans Affairs ◽  
Healthcare Information ◽  
Research Initiatives

Parallel Assessment Tracks for Human-Centered Design (PATH): A Framework for Transitioning to a New Health Information Technology System

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 294-298
Author(s):  
Jason J. Saleem ◽  
Kyle Maddox ◽  
Jennifer Herout ◽  
Kurt Ruark
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Health Information Technology ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Human Factors Engineering ◽  
Human Centered Design ◽  
Legacy System

This practice-oriented paper presents a human-centered design (HCD) framework that we developed to perform a comprehensive evaluation of a new health information technology (HIT) system under development, intended to replace a legacy system. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veteran Crisis Line (VCL) program provides a vital service in crisis intervention and suicide prevention. VCL staff rely on a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) legacy system, Medora. VCL intended to replace Medora with Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) CRM system. Due to wide-spread criticism of D365, the VA Human Factors Engineering (HFE) team engaged in a multi-study, mixed-method HCD evaluation to investigate the legacy system and intended replacement in terms of ability to support VCL staff needs. The HCD framework we developed to perform this evaluation may be adapted for other large-scale HIT transitions and may provide human factors practitioners with guidance to make evidence-based decisions to support (or abandon) such transitions.

scholarly journals Characteristics of the healthcare information technology workforce in the HITECH era: underestimated in size, still growing, and adapting to advanced uses

JAMIA Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R Hersh ◽  
Keith W Boone ◽  
Annette M Totten
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Weighted Average ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Healthcare Information Technology ◽  
Full Time Equivalent ◽  
Healthcare Information ◽  
Hospital Size ◽  
Average Analysis ◽  
Size Growth ◽  
Information Technology Workforce

Abstract Objective There is little readily available data about the size and characteristics of the healthcare information technology workforce. We sought to update a previous description of the size, growth, and characteristics of this workforce based on the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics® Database, a resource that includes hospital size, number of beds, amount of staffing, and an eight-stage model of electronic health record adoption (Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model, EMRAM℠). Materials and Methods We updated an analysis done using a 2007 snapshot of the HIMSS Analytics Database with a comparable snapshot from 2014 in order to estimate the size of the current workforce and project future needs. For the 2014 data, we applied the same weighted average analysis used in 2007 to obtain a ratio of information technology (IT) hospital full-time equivalent (FTE) to staffed beds, extrapolate the results to all US hospitals, and project the workforce needs as hospitals achieve higher EMRAM stages. Results Our estimated size of the healthcare information technology workforce in the US in 2014 was 161 160, which was 8.0% larger than the estimate based on the 2007 data. Based on the new data, we project a potential need for an additional 19 852 and 153 114 FTE, if all hospitals were to achieve EMRAM Stages 6 and 7, respectively. The distribution of FTE across job function category varies by EMRAM stage. Discussion and Conclusions Although these data are limited, especially for EMRAM Stage 7, there is likely need for substantial workforce growth as hospitals increase their adoption of advanced healthcare information technology. Further research with data better focused on workforce characteristics will provide a better picture of staffing requirements.

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