Tapping Trumps Typing: How Users Enter Data in an Electronic Student Encounter Log

摘要

Handheld encounter logs that accurately record patient diagnoses could facilitate several educational tasks. Unfortunately, data entry on hand-held computers is notoriously difficult, requiring either tapping buttons or entering text, for instance by typing. In most medical reference software, long lists of inputs adjust to match typed data, reducing the burden of data entry. Tapping is faster if the user can locate the correct target quickly, but designing and maintaining screens with many fixed targets is tedious, and the program grows large. We developed an Electronic Student Encounter Log, ESEL, allowing students to tap or type to record problems observed in ambulatory patients. The tapping interface comprises collections of related disease checkboxes organized in a shallow, broad tree structure, making 983 diagnoses visible with 2 taps. The typing interface mimics typical reference software, scrolling and searching a list of 1332 common problems to match user-entered text. ESEL records how students look for diagnoses to record. Analysis of 62 ambulatory care students’ ESEL records showed that they used the tapping interface much more often than the typing interface, and recorded data more quickly by tapping than by typing. If accuracy is acceptable, more robust tapping interfaces deserve wider consideration for data capture on handheld computers.