Human Factors and Organizational Issues in 2015: The Increasing Complexity of the Healthcare Domain Calls for More Comprehensive Approaches

Abstract

Summary Objective: To summarize significant research contributions on human factors and organizational issues in medical informatics published in 2015. Methods: An extensive search using PubMed/Medline and Web of Science® was conducted to identify the scientific contributions published in 2015 that address human factors and organizational issues in medical informatics. The selection process comprised three steps: (i) 15 candidate best papers were first selected by the two section editors, (ii) external reviewers from internationally renowned research teams reviewed each candidate best paper, and (iii) the final selection of five best papers was conducted by the editorial board of the Yearbook. Results: Noteworthy papers in 2015 emphasize the increasing complexity of the healthcare environment. They call for more comprehensive approaches and evaluation studies. All provide a real added-value in this direction. Conclusion: There is no more need to promote the contribution of human factors and ergonomics (HFE) approaches to health IT-related risks and patient safety. However, there is still a need for research on HFE methods to adapt health information technology tools to the complexity of the healthcare domain.