Improving Dental Health Through Usability: An Analysis of the Salud EDR System
Despite the challenges and limitations that come with Electronic Health Records (EHRs), these systems play a crucial role in enhancing the quality of care and patient safety in healthcare facilities. In dental schools, EHRs like the Salud system are vital for tracking students’ productivity and clinical experiences. This study delves into the usability of Salud, an Electronic Dental Record (EDR) system implemented at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), focusing on the perspectives of potential users.
The Importance of EHR in Dental Education
EHRs, particularly those tailored for the dental community like Salud, are designed to improve care quality and patient safety. They enable quality assessments that help identify critical areas needing improvement, ultimately supporting better healthcare delivery. In dental schools, EDRs are indispensable for monitoring and enhancing the productivity and experience of dental students.
Understanding the Salud System
The Salud EDR system was developed in Dublin Dental University Hospital and is adapted for use in dental settings. Originally launched in the 1990s, Salud serves as a web-based platform for managing patient records and workflows. In KSAU-HS’s dental program, Salud is used by dental students to enter various types of data, including patient medical history, medications, allergies, dental charting, progress notes, clinical notes, and treatment plans.
Methodology: A Comprehensive Usability Study
This study aimed to evaluate the usability of Salud, focusing on the perspectives of potential users. Nine 4th-year dental students participated in the study. They were selected using the Snowball sampling method to meet the study’s inclusion criteria related to age, experience, and willingness to participate in the evaluation session.
The evaluation methods included the Think-Aloud protocol, the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire, and Exit interviews. The Think-Aloud method required participants to verbalize their thoughts and feelings while using the system. The SUS questionnaire measured their satisfaction levels with the usability of Salud. The Exit interviews provided additional qualitative feedback on participants’ overall experiences with the system.
Usability Testing Results
Navigation Pathways Analysis
Participants were tasked with completing seven different tasks using Salud. Their navigation pathways were compared to those of an experienced user. Findings showed that the participants required significantly more clicks to complete the tasks than the experienced user, indicating inefficiency in the system’s design.
Out of the 63 tasks performed, only five were completed successfully, which represents a success rate of 7.9%. The most common issues faced were the inability to find the edit icon and the complexity of the interface.
Sus Quantitative Analysis
The SUS questionnaire yielded an average score of 31.1 out of 100 for the participants. This score was converted to a grading scale (A to F) and an adjective rating (Best Imaginable to Worst Imaginable) based on Bangor et al.’s framework. The score places Salud in the ‘Not Acceptable’ category, with a grade of ‘F’.
These results suggest that the current Salud design does not meet the usability standards required for a user-friendly application, especially for new users.
Think-Aloud and Exit Interview Analysis
Thematic analysis of the verbalized thoughts and exit interviews revealed several recurring themes. The two most frequent were hesitation and worry:
- Hesitation: Participants frequently paused to confirm if they were on the correct pathway and if their tasks were completed.
- Worry: Concern about using a different EDR system next semester可能导致 uncertainty and resistance.
Qualitative feedback highlighted other common issues, including:
- A basic and outdated-looking user interface.
- Lack of clear navigation and difficulty in locating specific features.
- Long, confusing help guides that were not helpful.
- A need for more specific training or user onboarding.
Key Findings and Recommendations
The study revealed several significant areas for improvement in the Salud system. Recommendations to enhance the usability of Salud include:
- Updating the user interface to be more modern, colorful, and intuitive.
- Implementing a more consistent icon design throughout the app.
- Providing a “Back” button to reduce cognitive load.
- Customizing the terminology in patient files.
- Breaking lengthy pages into multiple screens for easier navigation.
- Simplifying help guides and reducing the number of steps required to complete tasks.
- Offering targeted system feedback through pop-up alerts.
Conclusion
The findings from this usability study emphasize the critical need for improvements in the Salud EDR system to better meet the needs of dental students and enhance overall care quality. By addressing the identified challenges, dental schools can ensure that EDR systems like Salud are not only usable but also beneficial tools for learning and clinical practice.
The study highlights the importance of conducting regular usability tests with potential users to identify and rectify issues that affect the user experience. By taking proactive steps to improve Salud’s usability, dental education programs can better prepare students for their future careers and ultimately contribute to better patient outcomes.
Call to Action
We invite you to share your thoughts on the study’s findings and any suggestions you may have for improving the Salud system. Your feedback can help shape future research and development efforts aimed at enhancing the usability of electronic dental records. Please leave your comments below, subscribe to our newsletter for more insights, and share this article on social media to spread the word about the importance of user-centered design in healthcare technology.