DESIGN AN OTC MEDICINE VENDING SYSTEM COMBINED WITH OTC-EHR AND TEST IT WITH NON-EXPERTS AND EXPERTS THROUGH A USER-CENTERED DESIGN APPROACH

Abstract

This study attempts to design an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine vending system with OTC electronic health record (OTC-EHR) for pharmacies' digital transformation. A tablet-based prototype was used to analyze the behavior and attitude of non-experts and experts through a user-centered design approach to help optimize the design. The interfaces and information referenced by the non-experts and experts for decision-making remained similar. Experts browsed interfaces significantly longer than non-experts; moreover, they were more concerned about the medical information design, while non-experts primarily addressed the system's interactivity issues. Non-experts showed positive attitudes and acceptance toward the vending system, which, combined with OTC-EHR, can narrow the information gap between non-experts and experts. Non-experts embrace the system positively, their relatively low attention to medical information should be noted. The co-design should be considered to improve consumers' literacy and help mitigate potential health risks in self-medication using the vending system.