Usability and user experience of an educational electronic prescribing system to train medical students: a mixed-methods approach

Background Prescribing is a core responsibility of physicians, with electronic (e-)prescribing becoming the global standard. However, e-prescribing is insufficiently integrated in medical curricula, creating a gap between education and actual practice. To address this, we developed Edups, an educational electronic prescribing system that enables medical students to practice prescribing safely in a realistic environment. This study evaluated the usability and user experience of Edups among medical students in a real-world educational setting. Methods A prospective mixed-methods pilot study was conducted among first- and final-year master’s medical students at Erasmus MC University Medical Center (the Netherlands) from October 2023 to April 2024. In total, 136 students were invited to participate in our study after using Edups during two pharmacotherapy classes. Participants were invited to complete the System Usability Scale (SUS; 5-point Likert scale; 0-100) survey and participate in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inductive thematic analysis. Results Of 135 students invited to participate, 91 (67.4%) completed the survey. Of these, 10 (7.4% of the invited cohort) also participated in interviews. The mean SUS-score was 75.0 ± 12.0, indicating good usability with room for improvement. Interviews highlighted Edups’ educational relevance, realistic features, and usefulness. Suggested improvements focused on reducing system complexity, improving feature integration and feedback visibility, and providing clearer in-session instructions. Conclusions Edups bridges a critical gap in medical education by offering a realistic and safe environment to develop prescribing competencies. While participants valued its authenticity and feedback features, targeted usability refinements are required to optimize integration into medical curricula and improve educational impact.