Tables or bar graphs? Presenting test results in electronic medical records.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Electronic personal health records offer a promising way to communicate medical test results to patients. We compared the usability of tables and horizontal bar graphs for presenting medical test results electronically.

Methods

We conducted experiments with a convenience sample of 106 community-dwelling adults. In the first experiment, participants viewed either table or bar graph formats (between subjects) that presented medical test results with normal and abnormal findings. In a second experiment, participants viewed table and bar graph formats (within subjects) that presented test results with normal, borderline, and abnormal findings.

Results

Participants required less viewing time when using bar graphs rather than tables. This overall difference was d

SUBMITTER: Brewer NT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3770735 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul-Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature