Emergency departments (ED) are among the most cognitively demanding environments in modern healthcare. Clinicians must make high-stakes decisions rapidly, often under conditions of incomplete information, time pressure, and frequent interruption. Digital tools, from electronic health records to clinical decision support systems, are increasingly present in these settings, yet their design frequently fails to account for the specific human factors at play. This research investigates how interaction design and user experience (UX) principles can be applied to better support clinical decision-making. I will frame the ED not just as a workplace, but as a system of “Distributed Cognition”, where the interface acts as a vital mediating artifact in the decision-making process. The aim is to produce evidence-based design guidelines for interfaces operating in time-critical, high cognitive load contexts.
