The book reports on the current state on HCI in biomedicine and health care focusing on the
role of human factors patient safety well as methodological underpinnings of HCI theories and
its application for biomedical informatics. Theories models and frameworks for human-computer
interaction (HCI) have been recognized as key contributors for the design development and use
of computer-based systems. In the clinical domain key themes that litter the research
landscape of health information technology (HIT) are usability decision support and clinical
workflow - all of which are affected directly or indirectly by the nature of HCI. While the
implications of HCI principles for the design of HIT are acknowledged the adoption of the
tools and techniques among clinicians informatics researchers and developers of HIT are
limited. There is a general consensus that HIT has not realized its potential as a tool to
facilitate clinical decision-making the coordination of care and improves patient safety.
Embracing sound principles of iterative design can yield significant dividends. It can also
enhance practitioner's abilities to meet meaningful use requirements. The purpose of the book
is two-fold: to address key gaps on the applicability of theories models and evaluation
frameworks of HCI and human factors for research in biomedical informatics. It highlights the
state of the art drawing from the current research in HCI. Second it also serves as a
graduate level textbook highlighting key topics in HCI relevant for biomedical informatics
computer science and social science students working in the healthcare domain. For
instructional purposes the book provides additional information and a set of questions for
interactive class discussion for each section. The purpose of these questions is to encourage
students to apply the learned concepts to real world healthcare problems.
