Eliciting User Decision Requirements for Designing Computerized Diagnostic Support for Family Physicians

Despite its 40-year history, computerized diagnostic support is not used in routine clinical practice. As part of a European project to develop computerized diagnostic support for family physicians, we identified user decision requirements and made design recommendations. To this end, we employed multiple data types and sources. All data were elicited from U.K. family physicians and pertained to consultations with patients, either real or simulated. To elicit user requirements, we conducted in situ observations and interviews with eight physicians and performed a hierarchical task analysis of the diagnostic task. We also analyzed 34 think-aloud transcripts of 17 family physicians diagnosing detailed patient scenarios on a computer and 24 interview transcripts of 18 family physicians describing past cases of intuitive diagnoses from their experience. All transcripts were coded using the situation assessment record (SAR) method. We report our methods and results using the decision-centered design framework. Studies employing multiple human factors techniques and data types in order to elicit user requirements are rare. Our approach enabled us to propose interface design recommendations that go beyond existing "differential diagnosis generators," with the aim to improve physicians' performance and acceptance of the resulting tool.