Some reactions to the mockups:
Order list
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The expansion arrows on the left edge of orders seem backwards or wrong at first impression. If this is already convention, so be it. But I was expecting the arrow to reflect the current state and not the “desired” state – i.e. I’m used to seeing arrows like:
► collapsed and ▼ expanded -
The Type column seems unnecessary. I don’t think we need to dedicate a column to tell someone that Amoxicillin is a drug or that Hematocrit is a lab. If they don’t know that, then they have no business writing orders.
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The Status of “Ordered” is confusing. If orders are active, aren’t they “ordered” too? It’s not immediately obvious why I cannot edit an “Ordered” order while I can edit an active order.
Add order
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Eventually, I’d hope we could replace the “+Add Order” button with a text field that gets focus by default (at least for keyboard-based interactions). The current interface requires at least two clicks before I can even start specifying what I want to order. There could still be a widget at the end of the input field to pull up tools like common labs or order sets button-based screens. And the input field could be suppressed for non-keyboard based inputs (e.g., tablets). But when using a keyboard, I should be able to save dozens of clicks by simply typing the name of the orderable I want and hitting enter. For example, the current design requires two unnecessary clicks for every drug order.
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I’m a little worried about your dividing things between panels and tests. The user should only be presented with orderables (i.e., those things that can be ordered) and we should not assume that all elements of panels will be individually orderable. How will the UI work when a test in a panel is not individually orderable? For example, a user can order a “Full hemogram” (panel containing hemoglobin, hematocrit, and several other indices) but cannot order the individual elements? On the Lab Order screen, if I click on the LDL in tests, I’m actually ordering something different than the LDL in the panel (in a lipid panel, the LDL is typically calculated from the other values and when you order just an LDL itself you are usually ordering a direct LDL, which uses a different method and would very likely be a different concept). If you insist on going this UI direction for labs, please please please do not assume that you simply fill the “TESTS” section with all components from the “PANELS” section (i.e., do not assume that you will be able to show users all components of a panel by selecting them in the TEST section). If you want to inform users of what components are in a panel, use a tooltip or clickthru to show them.
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If at all possible, please approach the order forms as DIVs – i.e., don’t make assumptions about where they are in the page or the context around them. Ideally, we’d be able to take your order form screens (labs, drugs, order sets, etc.) and render them as modal dialogs instead of new pages.