How does Human Factors Design and Usability fit into patient safety?
A design that is “human-centered” supports or even enhances human performance. The opposite is a design that forces the user to stretch or to make an extra effort to interact successfully with an interface or device. Dangerous devices may trip users into an unintentional error. Usability is a measure of the design’s success to support or enhance human performance. The best sort of human-centered devices are easy to use, friendly and intuitively understood. With regard to patient safety, the best devices and interfaces are produced in accordance with the principles of human-centered design and pass usability testing before implementation.
