Interaction design in a complex context: medical multi-disciplinary team meetings

In order to improve collaboration on, and visualisation of, patient information in medical multi-disciplinary team meetings, we have developed a system that presents information from different medical systems to be used as a support for the decision process. Based on field studies, we have implemented a high-fidelity prototype on tablet-sized displays, and tested it in a realistic setting. Our evaluation proved that more patient information can efficiently be displayed to all meeting participants, compared to the current situation. Interaction with the information, on the other hand, proved to be a complicated activity that needs careful design considerations; it should ultimately be based on what roles the meeting participants have, and what tasks they should complete. Medical decision-making is a complex area, and conducting interaction design in this area proved complex too. We foresee a great opportunity to improve medical work, by introducing collaborative tools and visualisation of medical data, but it requires that interaction design becomes a natural part of medical work.