Effects of Mobile Computer Terminal Configuration and Level of Driving Control on Police Officers' Performance and Workload.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess police officers' performance and workload in using two mobile computer terminal (MCT) configurations under operational and tactical driving conditions. BACKGROUND: Crash reports have identified in-vehicle distraction to be a major cause of law enforcement vehicle crashes. The MCT has been found to be the most frequently used in-vehicle technology and the main source of police in-vehicle distraction. METHOD: Twenty police officers participated in a driving simulator-based assessment of driving behavior, task completion time, and perceived workload with two MCT configurations under operational and tactical levels of driving. RESULTS: The findings revealed that using the MCT configuration with speech-based data entry and head-up display location while driving improved driving performance, decreased task completion time, and reduced police officers' workload as compared to the current MCT configuration used by police departments. Officers had better driving but worse secondary task performance under the operational driving as compared to the tactical driving condition. CONCLUSION: This study provided an empirical support for use of an enhanced MCT configuration in police vehicles to improve police officers' safety and performance. In addition, the findings emphasize the need for more training to improve officers' tactical driving skills and multitasking behavior. APPLICATION: The findings provide guidelines for vehicle manufacturers, MCT developers, and police agencies to improve the design and implementation of MCTs in police vehicles considering input modality and display eccentricity, which are expected to increase officer and civilian safety.

Resident Indentified Violations of Usability Heuristic Principles in Local Electronic Health Records.

INTRODUCTION: Difficulties with the electronic health record (EHR) are known to be associated with high physician burnout. Usability studies can evaluate and identify usability issues with the EHR at the end user level. This study was conducted to determine physician perspectives and usability issues of local EHR systems. METHODS: Survey and focus group methodology were employed. Participants were resident physicians who were members of a resident council in the Midwest. Survey data collected included demographics and perceptions. Focus group data included participants identification of usability principle violations and potential impact to end user. RESULTS: There were 15 survey respondents (across 11 residency programs) who reported use of three different EHR systems: Cerner®, Meditech, and Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS). Satisfaction was greatest with Cerner® as well as most reported level of experience. Focus group respondents reported a variety of usability violations which lead to provider confusion, increased time, alert fatigue, and potential patient safety issues. CONCLUSION: Violations of usability principles can result in disruption of physician workflow processes and lead to increased documentation time as well as fatigue. These issues have been associated with increased provider burnout. Continuous usability assessments should be conducted at the end user level to promote the development of more effective and efficient EHR interface designs.