Becker's Hospital Review

55 Executive Briefing Sponsored by: I n the world of internet and mobile technologies, some of the most well-known companies such as Google and eBay are putting human-centered design (HCD) at the center of their processes, according to Wired. These companies prioritize the creation of more user-friendly experiences through design. HCD is a discipline in which the needs, behaviors, and experiences of an organization's customers (or users) drive product, service, or technology design processes. "The fact is that patient centricity has not been the driver of the way we've designed healthcare experiences so far," said Amy Bucher, PhD, the behavior change design director with Portsmouth, N.H.-based design agency Mad*Pow, during an interview with Becker's Hospital Review. "Patient-centered design may help us reach more patients and help protect our communities." Several examples suggest that incorporating HCD into healthcare supports stronger patient engagement. According to a 2013 health policy brief published in Health Affairs, patients who are more involved in their care tend to experience better outcomes. As a result, many public and private health care organizations are employing strategies to better engage patients, such as educating them and involving them more fully in making decisions about their care. Putting the Human in Human-Centered Design Context is key and understanding each patient's unique situation and the challenges of everyday life is necessary to uncover unmet needs and the emotions that drive behavior. For example, in one recent strategy project with Cincinnati Children's Hospital, HCD research led providers to improve empathy with patients and create better alignment between business objectives and patient and family needs. The hospital's mission was to create a respectful, intuitive, empathetic, and stress-free experience for all patients and family members. Partnering with Mad*Pow, they embarked on a journey to ensure that the patient experience remains a core focus as they evolve and grow. They wanted to empathize with patients and gain an in-depth understanding of what children and families go through as they cope with acute and chronic conditions that sometimes require years of ongoing intensive care. Mad*Pow helped build empathy between patients and providers through live on-location observations, staff shadowing, and a 5-week digital patient journal study. Their goal was to better align business objectives and patient and family needs by focusing on high-impact, high-value initiatives. This work kept the leadership conversation centered on the patient experience, positive outcomes, and long-term, high-impact investments to maintain a competitive edge and provide the care that patients expect. Dr. Bucher stated that while the widespread incorporation of HCD in healthcare should have been prioritized a long time ago, the current healthcare environment is embracing a more patient- centered approach — including HCD — due to several industry- wide changes, such as value-based care. "As healthcare changes, there's more and more of a focus on patient responsibility and patient accountability," Dr Bucher said. "I think as people start to get involved in this conversation as well as their actual bodies and their health, [more will become] interested in learning about ways in which they can participate more [in their care]." Patient-centered preventive care through human-centered design A focus on prevention is fundamental to improving population health goals, keeping in mind the patient should be the primary focus. Disease prevention can be more of a human problem than a purely scientific one. Another approach may be needed, one that takes individual human emotion, context, needs, and desires into account. HCD may do just that. The prospect of integrating HCD into the healthcare system holds great promise, especially with regards to disease prevention. Vaccination in the Preventative Care Strategy Vaccination is an essential component of any comprehensive preventative care strategy. Despite the proven benefits of vaccination, rates for certain preventable illnesses remain well below the US Department of Health and Human Services' Healthy People 2020 targets, which were established in 2010. Healthcare system leaders must emphasize the implementation of preventive strategies to achieve population health management. Vaccines are evidence-based interventions that may prevent certain infectious diseases and may assist healthcare organizations as they strive to improve quality of care. "We know that the more people who are vaccinated, the better we are at preventing preventable diseases in our communities," YiDing Yu, MD, an internal medicine physician with Newton, Massachusetts-based Atrius Health, told Becker's. "But face it, shots are hard to take, no matter how tough you are. If we were patient centered, we would ask: How can vaccines be painless? How can we deliver vaccines most conveniently? Patient-centered design may help us reach more patients and protect our communities." Taking a human-centered approach to vaccination SPONSORED BY: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., has paid for and provided editorial input on this material.

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