UB Engineering eNews

Industrial and Systems

Redesigning Tracking Tools May Have Unintended Consequences

UB researchers presented findings at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society revealing that proper design of computational tools is critical if they will be used successfully in patient-care settings. The researchers studied the effect of electronic technologies, which nationally are replacing traditional, dry-erase patient status boards, revealing that manual whiteboards allowed innate flexibility in communications between health-care providers and other emergency department staff.

Associate professor Ann Bisantz (ISE), a co-investigator, noted, “Without that public display, providers have to sit down at the computer and check it, which can add time or reduce awareness.” Bisantz said modifications based on user data, such as the information in this study, can help in the design of technology to best support user needs.