The Design & Evaluation of an Information Visualization to Improve the Efficiency & Understanding of Patient Health State

家庭医生面临着处理和解释越来越多的患者数据的需要，这挑战了他们处理所有相关信息的能力，以便做出影响患者生活的知情决定。医疗保健专业人士表示，在电子健康记录中查找、定制和排序数据方面感到沮丧，在会诊前或会诊期间几乎没有时间审查患者的信息。呈现不同来源的数据需要经过深思熟虑的组织进行有效的可视化，这样用户才不会“不知所措”，进而指导对信息的理解和解释。这项研究生研究旨在设计和评估整体信息可视化，为初级保健的临床医生提供对患者的快速概述和“本质”。这提供了一个机会来捕捉和交流患者的纵向历史和故事，同时帮助临床医生处理信息过载，提高对呈现数据的理解的效率，从而促进临床决策，改善护理和患者结果。目的本研究旨在设计和评估整体信息可视化，为初级保健的临床医生提供患者会诊前和会诊期间患者的快速概述和“本质”。额外的信息层可以将提供的数据与背景联系起来，提供对患者健康状态的丰富和全面的总结，同时提供一个机会来捕获和交流患者的纵向历史和故事。通过整体信息可视化，更广泛的目的是帮助临床医生应对信息过载，并提高对所呈现数据的理解效率，从而为临床医生提供必要的数据，以便为未来的会诊做出有效的干预和决策。研究问题信息可视化如何提高了解患者健康状态的效率，并帮助临床医生应对信息过载？信息可视化中视觉交流的维度是什么？临床医生认为哪些患者信息是最重要的？研究设计阶段1将调查可视化在医疗保健中的作用、重要性、应用、好处和局限性。对表示和传递数据的机制和模型的探索将提供对编码、传递和集成数据的方法的理解。医学可视化中的视觉交流维度将针对信息可视化中的“成分”的概念模型进行研究。第二阶段将设计信息可视化，以提高了解患者健康状态的效率。这将以一项初步定性研究的见解为指导，该研究调查初级保健的临床医生目前如何使用电子健康记录系统，以及他们认为哪些患者信息最重要。信息可视化将通过迭代设计方法进行开发。我们会透过一个已成立的谘询委员会所得的意见，就发展中的设计提供意见，并将用来改善和发展设计。在评估结果时，将会采用定性和定量研究。定量研究将评估可视化的理解和数据，可视化的可用性，以及与当前交流患者信息的方法的比较。由与医疗从业者的半结构化访谈组成的定性研究将提供关于沟通和理解的有效性的见解和反馈；可视化如何嵌入实践；可视化如何支持不同的用户群体及其在做出明智决策方面的作用。

Family physicians face the need to process and interpret an ever-increasing amount of patient data, which challenges their ability to address all relevant information in order to make informed decisions that influence patients' lives. Healthcare professionals report frustration in locating, customising and prioritising data in the Electronic Health Record, with almost no time before or during the consultation to review the patient's information. Presenting heterogeneous sources of data requires effective visualizations with considered organisation so users are not 'overwhelmed', and in turn to guide both the understanding and interpretation of the information. This postgraduate study seeks to design and evaluate a holistic information visualization, to provide clinicians in Primary Care with a quick overview and 'essence' of the patient. This offers an opportunity to capture and communicate a longitudinal history and story of a patient alongside assistingclinicians in coping with information overload, enhancing efficiency in the understanding of the presented data, and consequently, facilitating clinical decision making and improving care and patient outcomes.AimThis study aims to design and evaluate a holistic information visualization, to provide clinicians in Primary Care a quick overview and 'essence' of the patient pre and during the consultation. Additional layers of information can contextualise the data presented, providing a rich and holistic summary of the patient's state of health alongside offering an opportunity to capture and communicate a longitudinal history and story of a patient. Through the holistic information visualization, the broader aim is to assist clinicians in coping with information overload, and enhance efficiency in the understanding of the presented data, consequently providing clinicians with essential data to make efficient interventions and decisions for the coming consultation.Research QuestionsHow can an information visualization improve the efficiency in understanding the patient's state of health, and help clinicians cope with information overload? What are the dimensions of visual communication in an information visualization?What patient information do clinicians consider most important?Research DesignStage 1 will investigate visualizations in healthcare: its role, importance, applications, benefits and limitations. An exploration into mechanisms and models that represent and communicate data will provide an understanding of methods to encode, communicate and integrate data. The dimensions of visual communication in medical visualizations will be investigated towards a conceptual model of the 'ingredients' in an information visualization.Stage 2 will design information visualization that improves the efficiency in understanding the patient's state of health. This will be guided by insights stemming from an initial qualitative study that investigates how clinicians in Primary Care use the Electronic Health Record system at present, alongside which patient information they consider most important. The information visualization will be developed through an iterative design approach. Feedback will be attained on the developing design through insights derived from an established advisory board, and will be used to refine and develop the design.In evaluating the outcome, both qualitative and quantitative studies will be employed. A quantitative study will evaluate the understanding of the visualization and data, usability of the visualization, alongside a comparison against current methods of communicating patient information. A qualitative study consisting of semi-structured interviews with healthcare practitioners will provide insights and feedback on the effectiveness of communication and understanding; how the visualization can be embedded in practice; how the visualization can support different user groups and its role in making informed decisions.