Human-computer interaction and medical software development

We all appreciate the need for a systems approach to design, yet if we do not adequately understand the many interdependent systems, how do we maintain a systems approach? Can a usability professional acquire sufficient domain-specific expertise to efficiently perform a usability evaluation in the medical world? We will address these questions and argue for various levels of specialization for human-computer interaction (HCI) professionals working in the health care domain. Many medical software organizations have a limited understanding of human factors, usability, and HCI. Several medical software companies (e.g., SMS, Cerner) are beginning to embrace human factors and develop usability resources. IBM and other large informa-