Content area
Consistency is one of the most universally articulated usability principles for user interface (UI) design. Everyone who works in this field harps on about the importance of consistency of navigational style, terms used, screen layout, instruction format, illustrative style, text layout, and consistency of control mechanism, to name a few categories typically mentioned. Thus, to the extent that the software developers, engineers, and designers with whom people collaborate listen to them human factors professionals, UIs in the healthcare arena are becoming quite consistent. Newer electronic medical record systems and medical device UIs are very consistent. Indeed, the emphasis the US Food and Drug Administration has placed on reducing device use errors recently, is without a doubt, resulting in safer devices.