Use these resources to learn about the creation and presentation of content for use in healthcare settings, of interventions for care, and the development of various clinical support tools.
It is curated, not comprehensive, and a work in progress — a mix of theoretical and practical. We find them helpful; your mileage may vary.
>> Items marked with “>>” are highly recommended.
Books
MAKE SENSE OF COMPLEXITY
>> How to make sense of any mess, by Abby Covert.
Excellent, practical, you need this book.
CHECKLISTS IN MEDICINE
>> The Checklist Manifesto, by Atul Gawande.
Why Hospitals Should Fly, by John J. Nance.
Safe Patients, Smart Hospitals, by Peter Provonost and Eric Vohr.
DESIGN BASICS
Dynamics in document design, by Karen A. Schriver.
An excellent resource filled with good advice and documented research. A bit dated, but still useful.
The Elements of Typographic Style, by Robert Bringhurst.
Quintessential resource for all things type. A well-balanced mix of the history of type along with practical advice to help you develop a solid foundation for good type design.
Universal Principles of Design, by William Lidwell.
An introduction to fundamental design concepts used in a variety of disciplines including architecture, user experience, and graphic design. Short digestable sections with examples; more theoretical than practical.
ORGANIZE & DISPLAY INFORMATION
Information architecture for the web and beyond, by Louis Rosenfeld, Peter Morville, and Jorge Arango.
Commonly known as the "Polar bear book" because of the cover. A seminal resource.
Information Architects, by Richard Saul Wurman.
A complete collection of some of the best examples of how information can be communicated clearly using visual elements.
The Information Design Handbook, by Jenn Visocky O’Grady.
Envisioning Information, by Edward R. Tufte
USE AND STYLE WORDS WELL
>> The YAHOO! Style Guide, Chris Barr and the senior editors of Yahoo!
Learn to write clear, concise prose (e.g., for checklists). Many examples, very useful depite being a decade old.
Articles
The Checklist. Atul Gawande’s Dec 2008 article in the New Yorker.
Ten years of the Surgical Safety Checklist. A succinct overview of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist Safe Surgery project and discussion of challenges and opportunities. Weiser, TG, Haynes, AB, 2018. Ten years of the Surgical Safety Checklist. British Journal of Surgery 105, 927–929. doi:10.1002/bjs.10907.
Websites
Ariadne Labs. Visit this unique healthcare innovation lab to learn more about their projects and research, take advantage of their resources, and access communities of practice.
EMIC. The Emergency Manuals Implementation Collaborative is leading the way as a resource for development of crisis checklists in medicine.
Design for Health. Design for Health is an initiative aimed at improving global health through the growth and spread of design methods. Good explanations of design methods.