A new article at Medical Device Link, Catching the Human Factors Fever, discusses the current state of human factors in the medical device industry. The author, Erik Swain, who is the editor-in-chief of MD&DI, discusses successful examples of integrating HF processes into product development. Industry trends, such as increased FDA enforcement and a shortage of healthcare providers have increased the need for usable medical products. Human factors is also playing a role at the supplier end, moving usable design further upstream in the product development process.
Swain concludes that:
"More device companies are committing to human factors programs, and that will benefit caregivers and patients in the long run. But mere acceptance of human factors programs won’t be enough. The next step is to integrate usability findings with the risk management process. "
