Bad “Information Design” Leads to Medical Errors
Introduction
Information design is the process of arranging information in a way that is efficient and easy to understand.
It is the process of designing the visual representation of information. Such design creates a visual hierarchy that makes it easy for readers to understand the content.
Why Information Design is Important
The following are some reasons why this is important:
– Helps readers easily identify what is most important
– Creates balance and order in information
– Relieves cognitive load by limiting choices for the reader
– Helps users make decisions
Therefore, it can be important to be aware of how information should be presented.
A Medical Use Case of Information Design
Why are there so many medication errors in the nation’s hospitals?
The American Nurses Association (ANA) researched that question and came up with interesting answers.
It turns out such “information design” related mistakes like mislabeled medication or poor handwriting contribute to such errors more than we thought.
The survey of 1,039 nurses across America revealed the following factors responsible for injection-related medication errors:
1) Too rushed or busy environment (78 percent).
2) Poor or illegible handwriting (68 percent).
3) Missed or mistaken physician’s orders (62 percent).
4) Similar drug names or medication appearance (56 percent).
5) Working with too many medications (60 percent).
Items 2, 3, and 4 can certainly be avoided by a more careful and user-friendly content design program.
Conclusion
As I always say: good information design is not a luxury but a vital necessity. Not only poor design leads to inefficient and unhappy lives, but sometimes people lose their lives altogether because of it.
For more on this study, please click here.
