The usability testing of the integrated electronic healthcare services for diabetes mellitus patients during the pandemic in Indonesia

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes mellitus is a degenerative disease that obliges patients to take continuous healthcare services. During a pandemic situation, all access to healthcare facilities becomes limited. A web-based integrated electronic-healthcare system (IeHS) study was used to overcome this problem. This study aimed to describe patients’ ability to access and understand this web-based application. METHOD: An observational study using a web-based IeHS took place in Muara Tebo, Indonesia, in 2021. A total of 82 outpatients with diabetes mellitus participated in this study. These patients belonged to local community-based diabetes mellitus. Only adult patients accustomed to using smartphones were invited to participate in this study. All participants were taught to access the web-based application through video recordings. They were asked to fill out the form regarding their understanding of the web-based integrated e-healthcare application. This form was sent online. RESULTS: From the calculation of the usability scale, the results show that patients have not been able to take advantage of this application in life (the system usability scale (SUS) score 63.38). There is no significant difference between patients’ characteristics and the SUS score. CONCLUSION: Participants’ condition in this study reflects the general state of outpatients. The ability of these participants to access an internet-based application was related to their education level. This condition becomes a challenge for policymakers to improve local human resources to increase their health literacy.