The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued a request to obtain electronic health record (EHR) software from developers so that the agency can evaluate usability.
Both inpatient and outpatient EHR software is being requested, according to the announcement published in the Federal Register on February 14 (Vol. 77:30, p. 8217).
The agency intends to develop a framework for assessing the usability of health IT and performance-oriented user interface design guidelines for EHRs. NIST may also evaluate instructions; documentation, such as user manuals; and error messages as part of its year-long research project.
Vendors will be privately notified of problems identified by NIST researchers. The deadline for vendors to participate in the program is March 15.
