Healthcare in the digital age

The use of digital medical services has been on the rise. COVID was a big catalyzer, pushing healthcare organizations to quickly develop and release a myriad of new services – from chatbots to digital self-diagnosis, from healthcare tracking apps to treatment through video or voice call with physicians. Medicine is facing the greatest change we’ve ever seen.

This transformation touches on varied aspects of healthcare. Appointment chatbots and informative wizards minimize the pressure on call centers by helping patients act independently. They can manage appointments on their own, cancel or reschedule, as well as receiving all of the necessary information prior to meeting their doctor.

Chatbots are used for initial therapy as well, and in some cases replace nurses by giving remote basic diagnosis. By the time patients arrive at the clinic, there’s enough information regarding their condition, which shortens and personalizes processes. This is also effective for customizing information, filtering out what isn’t relevant, and even prevent patients from accessing misleading, frightening information.

When it comes to diagnosis, there are data-based apps that can diagnose certain ailments by creating a questionnaire and then crossing one patient’s answers with others. This allows patients to self-diagnose by listing symptoms and get a general sense of their condition and the right treatment. With easily treatable illnesses such as influenza treated online, the pressure on doctors gradually diminishes. Another catalysator of healthcare improvement is the AI revolution. Data based Machine Learning methods help identify needs faster and better and provide the right solutions.

COVID had made virtual doctor appointments, by phone or video, the new normal. Not every appointment has to be a physical visit, especially if it’s a follow-up or a request for subscription. Healthcare clinics had recognized a need. Online requests without having to set an appointment with the doctor, save time for both physicians and patients.

These online processes also change the way we perceive our own healthcare. Medicine used to be about fighting off an illness – and now it’s about preventing it all together. People take greater initiatives to stay healthy and use tech to daily manage their health. Wearables and digital platforms reflect users their physical conditions, and since everything is digitized, it is easy to share with doctors – as well as follow up long-term, notice trends and shifts, and predict conditions early on, which helps deal with them better.

Digital tools have many advantages. Treatments are highly accessible, comprehensive healthcare services are easily available and immobile patients can receive prompt treatment when needed. We’re not as inclined to postpone treatments and examinations, and visiting the clinic is no longer a consideration. Lowering pressure on doctors and clinics help relieve the entire system. Digitization is also cost effective for suppliers and service workers.

Why is a thorough UX and UI Design process so significant for digitized healthcare?

From a designer perspective, digitizing healthcare services can be quite complex. There are many factors to consider, primarily patients’ needs, as well as the entire line of service. It is important to keep in mind that behind every design, are supportive, complex systems, and restrictions are inevitable and should be considered. We find the best way to go about it to manage expectations with every group in the system, from content managers to tech, to heads of different departments. Always keep everyone in the loop on their responsibilities and contributions to the project. Confirmations may take longer, but for the organization and its end users, the result is optimal.

Speaking of end users, an important note: on both ends of the digital product are complementary users. For example, a doctor will submit a visitation summary, and the patient will have to access it – so the design should always consider ever touch point and the entire flow, end to end: before the patient has started the process and to the ongoing point of preserving them long-term. Another example is a complex flow for scheduling appointments, where patients has to be directed to the right clinic by a healthcare service worker – in this case, human involvement will delay the digital process, and the design has to assist in communicating this clearly.

The complexity does not skip patients, who have to pay close attention to administrative tasks, be consistent and on time, while making sense of medical jargon. Our mission is to deliver accessibility, simplicity and relief, by breaking down long processes into clear steps, providing the correct information at the right time, explaining why a process is delayed or halted, reflect the next steps and requirements – and doing so with empathy and through the patient’s point of view. The medical staff has to stay focused on their tasks while documenting and extracting information. Our mission is to create useable, clear and easy to operate screens. The faster a system becomes a habit, the more time doctors can spend with patients.

A significant guideline in digitizing healthcare is being mindful to user variety. Healthcare is among the most complex industries when it comes to its audiences, from newborns to seniors, from the digitally oriented to not at all, everyone needs healthcare. Patients might be facing some sensitive situations, which compels us to be endlessly thoughtful. At the heart of design processes are research and gentle learning of users’ pain points and needs, as these represent real people with real problems. We invest many hours in listening and understanding stories and experiences, both good and bad. Eventually, we’re looking for insights to better solutions.

The leading digital trend is placing the user, or patient in our case, in the center. This goes hand in hand with The Integrated Patient approach. It is of interest for healthcare organizations to integrate and empower patients, so they can better understand their condition and become active, while keeping up with treatments and services. Keeping patients involved can be done by granting them access to their personal information, regulating medical information according to their condition and allowing them to get active about their health. While learning more about it and personifying the process, we’ve concluded that patients want full disclosure of processes and information, and that an integrated patient will likely to develop greater understanding of the situation, thus trusting the process even more.

A final note on digital medical services from the retail point of view. As technology evolves and products become abundant and available, the patients’ experience becomes more of a retail one. Patients today want more then good enough, as there are many alternatives out there, and dissatisfaction means losing clients. That’s why organizations must develop the best products and constantly think about improvement and innovation.

Working with the pros

In recent years, we’ve been working with a growing number of medical organizations and startups in Israel. It’s becoming clearer that digital medical products are the future, and we’ve been seeing many initiatives come to life. Research shows that the best way to face a challenge is to seek the guidance of professionals – and that’s where we come in. We create leading, innovative products the global digital arena, using research, versatile UX methods, original workshops tailored to clients’ needs and refining the data into insights. Our designers are skilled in breaking down services into bits, learning them through and crafting solutions that will suit every user, be it patients, healthcare organizations or both. We recognize trends, work with every relevant person in the process, and base all of our decisions on thorough research.