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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 we collaborate listen to us human factors professionals (and they increasingly do), UIs in the healthcare arena are becoming quite consistent. Newer electronic medical record (EMR) systems and medical device UIs are very consistent. You will also find a lot of consistency among the dozens of screens of the most recent programs that articulate with implanted defibrillators, the UIs of the latest ultrasound systems, large-volume infusion pumps (LVPs), patient-controlled analgesia pumps (PCAs), in vitro diagnostic systems, etc.
The problem...