Exploring Health Care Professionals' Engagement With a Precision Dosing Calculator and Supporting Clinical Information: Insights From an Eye-Tracking and Usability Study
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Pharmacokinetic-based dosing calculators for individualized drug dosing remain underutilized in clinical practice, often due to poor usability and a lack of user-centered design. Understanding how health care professionals interact with these tools can inform design strategies and enhance usability. METHODS: Health care professionals wore eye-tracking glasses while using a codesigned vancomycin dosing calculator with supporting clinical information to complete example clinical scenarios. Eye-tracking data were collected for 23 predefined areas of interest, and fixation sequences were analyzed. A Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire was administered to assess the tool's perceived usability. RESULTS: Eleven pharmacists and three doctors participated in the study. The highest average dwell times were recorded for the pharmacokinetic plot, dosage regimen selection, dosing history, drug concentrations, and the area under the concentration-time curve and dose visualization area. Participants generally viewed patient demographic information first and pharmacokinetic and dosage regimen information last. Considerable heterogeneity was observed among participants' fixation sequences, with frequent eye movements between key areas, particularly between the pharmacokinetic plot and dosage regimen selection, and between dosing history and drug concentrations. Participants expressed a preference for these elements to be positioned close together. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding how health care professionals interact with decision support systems is essential for developing user-friendly tools that align with clinical workflows. Eye-tracking data provided valuable insights into user engagement patterns with the dosing calculator and clinical information interface. These insights will guide future design strategies to address usability barriers that limit the utilization of dosing calculators in clinical practice and promote the implementation of individualized drug dosing.
Source: Therapeutic Drug Monitoring
Institutions: University of South Australia, Royal Adelaide Hospital
Language: English
Subfield: Health Information Management
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funder: Australian Government
OpenAlex ID: W4409910698