Are You Really Sure You Want To Do That...Too Many Wasted Clicks

I sometimes wonder who is in charge of adding extra clicks to tasks and if they get paid by the click.  You see it everywhere.  I notice it on my GPS (I am old enough to have a GPS beside my phone).  To do a simple task, such as cancelling my route, i click to bring up the cancel screen, select cancel route, confirm I want to cancel my route, and then am brought to a black screen where I must say 'Done' before I can get back to the maps. We have all had this experience as technology is everywhere and not always well designed.

EHRs are notable culprits of the dreaded extra click.  They are usually of the program-minded, 'Are you sure you wish to....'.  There are ways to deal with this extra step, either making the click easier and faster or eliminating it entirely when it is not necessary.

Then there are the multiple steps that can be combined into one.  A big example of this is Save.  Most of the time physicians whether writing a chart note, interoffice note, consult note, etc want to save the note to the chart and perform another action...Print or Send.  In many EHRs, physicians need to save their work, then reopen the chart, go to the note and the print or send.  This time waste, is frustrating and unnecessary.  A simple change to the UI (user interface) and you have a Save and Print button or a Save and Send button.


These changes take very little programming resources.  They only require a little bit of forethought, or listening to your physician clients' feedback.  It's out there.  Take the time to listen.