Healthcare UX Design & Research

Our expertise is in the intersection of user experience and healthcare outcomes. Our design team simplifies complex processes, improves provider efficiency, and focuses deeply on patient needs, ensuring a smoother, safer healthcare journey.

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What is healthcare UX?

Our approach focuses on the strategic integration of user research, UX design principles, and human factors to optimize the health journey.

User research

User research involves studying how patients and providers interact with digital healthcare solutions to enhance usability, accessibility, and effectiveness. Through methods like interviews and usability tests, it uncovers insights to create patient-centric experiences.

UX design

In healthcare, UX design involves tailoring digital solutions to optimize patient experiences, ensuring usability, accessibility, and satisfaction. It encompasses understanding patient needs, behaviors, and goals to create intuitive and engaging interfaces that enhance healthcare delivery and outcomes.

Human factors

Human factors study how people interact with systems and technology, aiming to improve safety, efficiency, and usability. It focuses on designing user-friendly environments and devices, considering cognitive and physical aspects to support healthcare professionals and enhance patient outcomes.

Healthcare UX Use Cases

Electronic Health Records (EHR) Systems

Designing intuitive interfaces for EHRs to help healthcare providers quickly access and update patient information.

Telemedicine Platforms

Creating user-friendly platforms for virtual consultations, enabling patients to easily schedule appointments, interact with doctors, and access medical records.

Patient Portals

Developing portals where patients can view test results, manage prescriptions, communicate with healthcare providers, and track their health.

Medical Devices

Designing interfaces for medical devices such as blood glucose monitors, heart rate monitors, and wearable health trackers to ensure ease of use and accurate data interpretation.

Medication Management Apps

Creating apps that help patients manage their medications, set reminders, and track dosages.

Appointment Scheduling Systems

Streamlining the process of booking, rescheduling, and canceling appointments to reduce administrative burden and enhance patient convenience.

Health Education Tools

Developing interactive tools and resources to educate patients about their conditions, treatments, and preventive care.

Clinical Decision Support Systems

Designing systems that assist healthcare professionals in making informed decisions by providing evidence-based recommendations and alerts.

Mental Health Apps

Creating apps that offer resources, therapy sessions, and support for mental health issues like anxiety and depression.

New client portal shifts transactional relationships to partnerships

Client specializing in third-party logistics for pharmaceuticals, uses a complex SAP-based client portal that often confuses users due to its multi-step data export process.

UX processes & strategies

Stanford Biodesign Process

Workshops

Interviews

Information Architecture

Mockups (wireframes & visuals)

Prototyping

Testing

Design System

Stanford Biodesign Process

The Stanford Biodesign Process is a method for healthcare innovation consisting of four stages: Identify unmet needs, Invent potential solutions, Implement a chosen solution, and Improve through ongoing refinement. It’s a systematic approach used to develop medical devices and solutions by observing, brainstorming, implementing, and iterating.

Workshops

Workshops are interactive sessions where participants collaborate to understand user needs, generate design ideas, and solve user-centric problems. These workshops aim to enhance the usability and overall experience of a product or service by focusing on the user’s perspective. Facilitators guide the sessions to ensure productive discussions and meaningful outcomes.

Interviews

Interviews in UX design are one-on-one sessions with users to gather insights about their needs, behaviors, and experiences. These interviews help designers understand user motivations, pain points, and preferences. Typically, open-ended questions are used to encourage detailed responses. The insights gained from these interviews inform design decisions, ensuring that the final product meets user expectations and improves overall usability.

Information Architecture

Information architecture (IA) in UX design is the process of organizing and structuring content to make it easy for users to find and understand information. It involves creating clear navigation, labeling, and categorizing content logically. IA ensures users can efficiently locate what they need, enhancing their overall experience with the product or service.

Mockups (wireframes & visuals)

In UX design, two key stages are:

Wireframes: Simplified visual guides outlining the basic layout, structure, and element placement, focusing on functionality and user flow.

High-Fidelity Design: Detailed designs that include colors, typography, and images, closely resembling the final product to provide a realistic user interface for thorough testing and refinement.

Prototyping

Prototyping in UX design involves creating interactive models of a product to test and refine its functionality and user experience. Prototypes can be low-fidelity (simple sketches) or high-fidelity (detailed digital models). This process helps identify usability issues, gather user feedback, and make adjustments before full-scale development, ensuring the final product meets user needs.

Testing

Testing in UX design is the process of evaluating a product’s usability and user experience by observing how real users interact with it. This stage involves methods such as user testing, A/B testing, and usability testing. The goal is to identify and address issues, gather feedback, and ensure the product meets user needs and expectations. Testing helps refine the design and improve overall functionality and user satisfaction before the final release.

Design System

A design system in UX design is a set of standards, guidelines, and reusable components that ensure consistency across a product’s user interface. It includes elements like color palettes, typography, icons, and UI patterns, along with documentation on their usage. This system helps maintain a unified look and feel, streamline the design process, and improve collaboration between designers and developers.

Technologies
Dovetail
Open AI
Figma
Miro
Google

How to get Started

HIPAA Compliant MVP

Launch a new service or product in as little as 8 weeks

VBC Technology Consulting

Consulting services for technology integration in Value-Based Care.

Strategic Assessment

An evaluation to guide critical business strategies and decisions.

HIPAA Compliance & PHI

HIPAA compliance is crucial for ensuring the security and privacy of Protected Health Information (PHI). At Digital Scientists, our extensive experience with PHI underscores our commitment to developing custom solutions that adhere to stringent data protection standards. This expertise not only helps prevent data breaches but also positions us as a trustworthy partner in the healthcare sector, adept at navigating complex regulations and maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive information.

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Points of difference

Face-to-face

We prioritize getting to know our users and stakeholders intimately, through face-to-face meetings and in-depth interviews. Our decision-making process is data informed and places stakeholders at the center, ensuring their needs and experiences shape our actions.

Co-creation

We like to include stakeholders, both end users and internal in the creation process as much as possible. We hold co-creation workshops and regular checkins for feedback and realignment as things evolve and change.

Adaptable

Our design team is highly adaptable, with years of experience tackling unique challenges across diverse industries. We quickly integrate into any project, delivering tailored solutions for even the most complex and specialized needs

1

What expertise does Digital Scientists offer in user research, UX design, and human factors in healthcare?

Digital Scientists boasts a dedicated team specialized in user research, UX design, and human factors engineering specifically for healthcare applications. Our team excels in understanding the unique needs and challenges of healthcare users, from patients to providers, and designs solutions that are intuitive, accessible, and effective.

2

How do user research and UX design improve healthcare applications?

Our user-centric approach ensures that healthcare applications are not only functional but also user-friendly, reducing cognitive load and enhancing user satisfaction. Through rigorous user research and testing, we identify and address specific user needs and behaviors, leading to higher engagement, better adherence to treatment plans, and overall improved health outcomes.

3

What types of user research and UX design projects does Digital Scientists undertake in healthcare?

We engage in a variety of projects including designing interfaces for electronic health records (EHRs), developing patient portals, creating telehealth services, and optimizing mobile health applications. Each project is approached with a focus on making complex healthcare information and interactions as simple and user-friendly as possible.

4

Can Digital Scientists integrate human factors considerations into existing healthcare systems?

Yes, integrating human factors is a cornerstone of our design process. We assess and refine healthcare systems to enhance usability, ensuring that they align with the physical and cognitive capabilities of users. This process helps prevent errors, increases efficiency, and improves user satisfaction.

5

What is the process for developing a healthcare solution with a strong focus on UX and human factors with Digital Scientists?

Our development process starts with an in-depth analysis of the users’ needs through ethnographic studies, persona development, and user journey mapping. We then prototype designs, conduct usability testing, and iterate based on feedback. Throughout, we ensure that the solutions meet the rigorous standards required in healthcare for both usability and regulatory compliance.

6

How does Digital Scientists ensure the usability and accessibility of its healthcare solutions?

We adhere to best practices in accessibility and usability, guided by standards such as the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and Section 508, as well as healthcare-specific guidelines. Our designs are tested with diverse user groups to ensure they are comprehensible and accessible to users with varying abilities.

7

What kind of support does Digital Scientists provide after deploying a UX-focused healthcare solution?

Following deployment, we provide ongoing support that includes monitoring user feedback, conducting post-launch usability testing, and making iterative improvements. Our goal is to ensure that the solution remains effective and continues to meet the needs of a dynamic healthcare environment.

8

How do your UX and human factors services enhance healthcare outcomes?

Our services enhance healthcare outcomes by designing solutions that are easier for patients and healthcare providers to use, which improves the accuracy of health data input, increases the efficiency of healthcare delivery, and fosters better patient engagement.

9

What methodologies do you employ in user research for healthcare applications?

We use a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies including interviews, observations, usability testing, A/B testing, and surveys. These methodologies help us gather deep insights into user behaviors, preferences, and challenges.

10

How long does it typically take to design and implement a UX-focused solution in healthcare?

The timeline can vary based on the scope of the project and the complexity of the healthcare environment. Typically, projects can range from several months to over a year, encompassing research, design, testing, and implementation phases.