JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Emergency Departments (EDs) are complex and fast-paced clinical settings where a diagnosis is made in a time-, information- and resource-constrained context. Thus, it predisposes to suboptimal diagnostic outcomes, leading to errors and subsequent patient harm. Arriving at a timely and accurate diagnosis is an activity that occurs after an effective collaboration between the patient/caregiver and the clinical team within the ED. Interventions such as novel sociotechnical solutions are needed to mitigate errors and risks.

Objective:

This study aims to evaluate design ideas and co-design technological interventions that address the challenges that frontline ED providers and patients face in the ED diagnostic process by directly involving them in the design process.

Methods:

This study uses a participatory design approach to explore ideas for interventions to enhance the ED diagnostic process and patient safety. We will facilitate separate sessions with providers and patients, respectively, to assess various design ideas and co-design for technological interventions to improve ED diagnostic safety. Data sources will include audio and video recordings, design sketches, and ratings of intervention design ideas from participatory design sessions with ED providers and patients/caregivers. The University of Michigan Institutional Review Board approved this study. This foundational work will help identify the needs and challenges of key stakeholders in the ED diagnostic process and develop initial design ideas for patient, provider, and systems-level interventions for mitigating error and improving patient safety in EDs.

Results:

The participant recruitment for ED providers and patients is completed. We are currently preparing for participatory design sessions. The first results from design sessions with providers will be reported in 2024.

Conclusions:

This study will provide unique insights for designing technology-based interventions to support ED diagnostic processes. By inviting ED providers and patients into the design process, we expect to identify technological interventions that are directly relevant and address the needs of ED providers and patients. Based on the collected data and intervention ideas from this study, we will develop prototypes of multi-level interventions that can be implemented for patients, providers, or hospitals as a system.