Using voice-activated conversational interfaces for reporting patient safety incidents: a technical feasibility and pilot usability study

Owen Sun, Jessica Chen, Farah Magrabi

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference proceeding contributionpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)
233 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Conversational interfaces and speech recognition capabilities are being increasingly used to create more natural and intuitive user interaction with digital technology. While voice-activated technologies have been used to support clinical documentation, their use for reporting patient safety incidents has not been previously investigated. The purpose of this paper is to assess the technical feasibility of an application for reporting incidents that combines a conversational interface with speech recognition software, and to undertake a pilot study of its usability. We built a prototype finite state-based application where incidents involving digital health technologies could be reported by answering five questions about the task being performed, the response of the software and the outcome of the clinical situation. Pilot tests showed that the conversational interface was usable. However, participants expressed concerns with speaking out loud about sensitive patient safety and quality improvement issues, including human error and system failures, in busy clinical environments. Further work is required to identify the clinical contexts in which conversational interfaces can be used to support incident reporting.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationConnecting the System to Enhance the Practitioner and Consumer Experience in Healthcare
Subtitle of host publicationSelected Papers from the 26th Australian National Health Informatics Conference (HIC 2018)
EditorsElizabeth Cummings, Angela Ryan, Louise K. Schaper
Place of PublicationAmsterdam
PublisherIOS Press
Pages139-144
Number of pages6
Volume252
ISBN (Electronic) 9781614998907
ISBN (Print) 9781614998891
Publication statusPublished - 2018
Event26th Australian National Health Informatics Conference (HIC 2018) - Sydney, Australia
Duration: 29 Jul 20181 Aug 2018

Publication series

NameStudies in health technology and informatics
PublisherIOS Press
ISSN (Print)0926-9630

Conference

Conference26th Australian National Health Informatics Conference (HIC 2018)
Country/TerritoryAustralia
CitySydney
Period29/07/181/08/18

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) and IOS Press 2018. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Conversational agent
  • Dialogue system
  • Patient Safety

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