How do you ensure that an intervention has enough scale to make a real impact but remains flexible enough to design from the user's point of view, without getting stuck in rigid systems that forget the needs and emotions of the end user?
The fragmented healthcare landscape needs interventions that are embraced by multiple healthcare institutions. As Michiel van der Geest describes, the 'not-invented-here' is a major obstacle that leaves great initiatives and interventions stranded without making a real impact. On the other hand, there is a risk that when streamlining protocols on a large scale and integrating interventions takes place, the end user is often forgotten.
When developing interventions, whether it's an app, a product or a service, the system often takes the upper hand. Design choices are based on the current (rigid) frameworks of hospitals, laws and policies but not on the end user: the patient. What does it take to connect to the patient's experience and how can the intervention connect to this? What are the risks of inside-out design and how do we ensure that the intervention is scalable but has an impact on an individual and collective level?
Digitization in healthcare is a challenging but necessary development in our society, which is why these questions are central to our projects in the healthcare domain. For example, we are currently working with Dwarslaesie Organisatie Nederland to investigate how we can develop a Personal Health Environment (PGO) for people with complex care needs in an accessible way. Our goal: a scalable, human centered and primarily impactful product.
We did extensive target group research, where we looked at the environment of people with a spinal cord injury, what they need and what they encounter. This target group is the textbook example of people who have to maneuver through the healthcare jungle every day, have a lot of red tape and have to monitor themselves 24/7 to get the care they need. We are developing a digital solution that ensures that they are in control of their care. In this process, we are looking at how to get the right people and agencies to the table so that this becomes a scalable solution, without losing sight of the user.
Do you have a vision about innovation and digitization in the healthcare domain? We are always open for a conversation.
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