Evaluating the Usability of a Nationwide Pharmacy Information System in Iran: Application of Nielson’s Heuristics

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Background: This study was conducted to evaluate Pharmacy Information Systems (PIS), which are widely used in Iranian hospitals to identify the usability problems of PIS. Methods: Ten usability experts independently evaluated the user interfaces of pharmacy information system using a heuristic evaluation method. They applied Nielsen’s heuristics to identify and classify usability problems and Nielsen’s severity rating to judge their severity. Results: Overall, 125 unique heuristic violations were identified as usability problems. In terms of severity, 67% of problems were rated as major and catastrophic. In terms of usability violations, two out of 10 heuristics including “consistency and standards” and “recognition rather than recall”, were the most frequently violated whereas “error prevention” and “help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors” were the least frequently violated heuristics. Conclusions: Despite widespread use of specific healthcare information systems, they still suffer from usability problems. These usability problems have been found to potentially put patients at risk. Moreover, they can negatively affect the effectiveness and efficiency of the healthcare information systems, the satisfaction of their users, and the financial issues of the hospital. It is recommended that the designers design systems on the basis of existing standards and principles. These systems are required to be evaluated annually and updated based on obtained results.