4 thoughts on “Poor Usability Can Cost Lives

  1. “The baby’s mother, Lisa Weale, 35, from Longbridge, Birmingham, said that after the bypass incident she was told that the duty doctor was not qualified to monitor the machine. She was further told that the hospital did not have the resources to ensure there was always somebody on duty who was.”

    Ah, government health care at its finest.

  2. Speaking personally, Gerv, they more than likely robbed some poor technical author by paying her half of what she was worth, causing her to be demotivated enough to cut corners in the relevant documentation.

    /flippant

  3. I’m curious how that machine got in a hospital….

    don’t they need certification to be used for healthcare purposes? IIRC, they need to be clear in operation and the manufacturer must dictate if special training is recommended.

  4. I’m curious how that machine got in a hospital….
    don’t they need certification to be used for healthcare purposes?

    I suppose that depends on jurisdiction, but, at least around here, whatever certification is needed apparently has nothing whatever to do with clarity or usability of interface. I’ve heard my mom (an OB nurse) describe the various health-care machines they use on her floor, and the picture she paints doesn’t exactly conjure up images of thorough usability testing. The medical software that they use for charting and ordering medications and whatnot is even worse.