Target UsersContextual Inquiry Interview DescriptionList of TasksTask Analysis QuestionsNames and Assignment AllotmentTarget Users Medical practitioners: administrators, doctors, nurses and physician’s assistants, face the burden of transcribing all observations and orders. They represent one-half of our user base and the group that will be less directly helped by our tool. These individuals receive career-oriented training for 2-4 years at specialized schools, they then gain experience through clinical training at a hospital and continue their career here or some other healthcare institute. Their first duty is always to the patient and they generally feel happiest when they can restore an individual’s health. As a broad generalization, they dislike paperwork and find that it can sometimes get in the way of providing the best quality of service. Filling out more forms, charts and orders means less time for them to care for patients and thus reduces their satisfaction. Specifically, the individual we picked to interview in this category is a clinical physician and fit into the general model. This person spent 4 years in medical school accompanied by 2 years of clinical rotation and is serving as a second year medical resident. He or she also complained almost 20% of the workday is used for paperwork. The doctor states that “considering the amount of data we put down, there is a very poor return.” Pharmacists are trained in fields including pharmacology, chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, physiology, anatomy, biochemistry and hepatology. Pharmacists are a critical source of medical knowledge in clinics, hospitals, and community pharmacies in general. They bridge the gap between patients and physicians to ensure that proper medical therapy is chosen and implemented in the best way possible. They have many roles but more traditional and common role is to provide general health advice and specific details to patients about disease states and medications. Jim and Tom, both hold a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree from a prestigious university. They’ve both been working in pharmacies for more than 10 years now. In general, pharmacists enjoy advising patients on how drugs can help them keep them healthy. They dislike making anyone wait for medication and delays in reading prescriptions. The pharmacists chief priority of is quickly dispensing medication to patients. For the purposes of description the Walgreen’s pharmacist will be referred to as Jane Smith. Jane works at the Walgreens pharmacy in Berkeley on Shattuck. She has been working there for a few years since graduating from School of Pharmacy at her university. At her university, Jane started her career as a student intern, then as a graduate intern, and finally receiving a pharmacist position at Walgreens. Although most of the responsibilities that her job entails were learned at school, the processes on how to fill prescriptions and deal with customers were reinforced by training from Walgreens. She is assisted by a pharmacy technician, who manages the administrative details of the job such as handling phone inquiries, entering patient purchases, and assisting with filling prescriptions. Contextual Inquiry Interview Description (Note: Gender pronouns are chosen randomly and we make every effort to preserve the anonymity of our generous volunteers).The inquiry with the clinician took place at a county hospital. It occurred on one of the upper levels of the hospital where clinics are typically held. Two individuals from our group monitored appointments with the doctor mentioned in the “Target Users” section. We tried to be as discreet and respectful as possible when the doctor was interacting with the patient. We often asked questions when the physician left the room to fill certain forms (which is convenient for us since this was the actual task we wanted to witness and question dynamically). All the patients we encountered already had medical identification with the hospital and hence a pre-existing chart. The unique identifier for any patient is an ink imprint of the patient’s medical ID card. (A financial card is also used for identification purposes and billing.) When we arrived the waiting area was quite full and a long line streamed from the admit area. A nurse eventually calls the registered patients from the waiting area, into an exam room. He measures certain basic physiological values (for example, temperature and blood pressure) and asks for the patient’s principle complaint – noting all information on their chart. After a short delay the doctor arrives and examines the notes on the chart the nurse has left for him. Comments, figures, measurements and almost any relevant observed phenomenon are recorded. If a procedure is performed there are additional specific forms which must also be filled. As possible differential diagnoses are narrowed down, experience and intuition yield a definitive diagnosis. If the patient needs to be medicated, the doctor decides to write a prescription on a standard form. These 4.25”x 7.6” slips are first stamped with the imprint of the medical ID card in the upper-right hand corner. The doctor must still write the patient’s name despite this stamp. The form is dated and at least eight pieces of information are used to verify the doctor’s identity. Additionally, another vital piece of information is included: the diagnosis. Up to three drugs can be prescribed on one form. For each medication the strength, quantity, patient instructions and refills are recorded. We requested that the doctor “think-out-loud” as she filled out the form, though the task is quite mundane for this user. The physician noted that the prompts provided by the existing form are very helpful if you are new to the layout but she rarely uses them anymore because she is so accustomed to the form. She moved much more slowly filling out the medication information, noting the specific brand of drug to be prescribed. However, she did say that had she not been as conscious of her actions as she was now she may have proceeded more hastily noting only the generic drug name. We inquired whether writing a prescription is the same in all other departments. The doctor mentioned that very often it is, with two noticeable exceptions. In-patient orders are written on separate forms and filled in a different part of the pharmacy. Additionally, new laws require narcotic prescriptions be printed
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