Health Care and Human-Centered Design Make for Good Bedfellows
By Cynthia Rando , Sophic Synergistics , LLC cynthiarando @ sophicsynergistics . com
Human-centered design and the health and medical industry have something significant in common , a focus on the human being . Human-centered design seeks to seamlessly integrate technology and its design in a manner that maximizes human performance , safety , user acceptance and trust , and exploit natural human affordances in any environment . Similarly , the health care industry seeks to leverage the latest technology to help preserve the health and safety of its patients , reduce known risks and prevent introduction of new risks during the course of patient care . Both disciplines seek to optimize the human element while reducing errors that can occur during operations , interaction with technology , and rendering of care . Cost of Adverse Medical Events The complexities of the health care system , including those introduced by technology , have contributed to a growing need to improve the integration of humancentered design practices at all levels of the health care delivery system . In recent years , health and medical care has become a growing sub- specialty within the field of human factors and ergonomics , a response to an increase in adverse medical events . According to the National Center for Policy Analysis , the economic cost associated with medical errors range from $ 393 to $ 958 billion . For every dollar spent by the health care system treating a patient there is approximately . 45 cents worth of harm delivered . This does not indicate that healthcare providers are negligent when it comes to patient care . Rather , it is an indicator that there has been inadequate considerations made regarding human limitations in very stressful environments with complex technologies , creating a large opportunity for the occurrence of medical errors and threats to patient safety . In an effort to protect the patients and reduce the scope of medical errors , it is imperative that the medical and health care industry focus more on integration of human-centered design methodologies as applied to technology development , user testing , and implementation including consideration of workplace and patient operations .
Patient Experience Similarly , the application of human-centered design methodologies are essential for delivering positive patient experience outcomes during medical care interactions . The health care industry is facing larger demands as the baby boomer generation continues to age . In part , this has contributed to a boom for the medical industry including the needed number of providers and supporting technology development efforts . Ultimately , making health care big business with considerable risk associated with fast growth and adoption of evolving technologies . The faster a sector grows to meet demands , the more we look to technology to help streamline operations and augment capacity to handle the demands . This approach can lead to incredible risk to those who receive care when human-centered design principles and methodologies are not considered on the ground floor . Unfortunately , changes or improvements are often prioritized only after an adverse event or a fatality has occurred . We have witnessed some promising changes initiated by insurance providers , helping to encourage mitigation of risk and improved patient experience as a priority . Specifically , insurance providers have made changes to how hospitals are paid for rendered services by making payment contingent upon patient outcomes . Catalyzing a move to a more human-centered approach to delivering care . Crossroads We are at a crossroads with the medical industry boom and the need to address the growing number of adverse medical error events and negative patient outcomes . Investing in human-centered design expertise will help address many issues including : making products and services more usable , trusted , compatible , comfortable and safe for patients as well as care givers . A more deliberate focus on human- centered design strategies will offer the opportunity to reduce risks to patients as well as adverse medical errors . Both of which lead to a more successful , patient focused , safer and more profitable business operation .