Challenge

We needed to spark new ideas for future of healthcare concepts, road-test our Innovation Lab workshop processes before bringing them to clients, and develop conversation-starters to develop proof of concepts we could use as sales tools with clients.

Outcome

We identified and aligned on future healthcare drivers and designed concepts that drove organizational priorities and were turned into prototypes, whitepapers, and sparks for further research.

Context

We wanted to elevate the role of design, establish new working relationships that connected design and technology, and bring together the unique insights and strengths from multiple departments to imagine paths forward together. Our workshop included designers, our healthcare senior sales team, the VP of Health, and the CEO.

Process

I conducted generative research, developed a three-day workshop with a team of four other designers, synthesized findings, developed the project management process to build out concepts, and created an experience vision and prototype for one of our concepts.

We developed a series of workshops to span 1.5 days, starting with problem framing to surface foundational understanding from our healthcare sales team, then mapping important drivers of the future and ideating on potential concepts.

We mapped past and future drivers during the workshop. Afterwards, I created a (very) rough timeline correlating drivers to STEEP areas and connected systemic implications.

Featured Insights

The rise of predictive medicine & personalized approaches

Combining new technologies (AI, genomics), population health initiatives, and consumer attitudes, and systems.

Value & measurement of qualitative data and wellness 

Interest in holistic approaches and mental health, measuring qualitative data, taking a wellness vs. sickness approach to understanding people. 

Barriers to innovation often lie outside the technology sphere.

Structural issues – such as data interoperability and billing codes – keep new technology from implementation.

Output: Conected Care Concept

We spent a few hours on potential scenarios and low-fidelity prototypes as a post-workshop output, aiming to select two concepts to bring into development as part of our Innovation Studio as showcase pieces of our technical and design capabilities. We factored in the challenges our healthcare SMEs and sales teams were hearing from potential customers.

I focused on the problem of hospital readmission, a key scenario we identified during our workshops, and remote patient monitoring, combining a mobile interface with remote monitoring technology as a near-term piece to bring into sales meetings.

I developed a journey map, visit experience scenario for context, and mapped out other benefactors of the potential solution in the healthcare ecosystem.

Impact

Our biggest challenges were sustaining engagement and long-term thinking, with skepticism about imagining ideas more than two years out. Conducting a ‘hopes and fears about the future’ exercise upfront helped alleviate the initial skepticism by allowing people to share their deeper personal perspectives around the topic area as a group. Mapping out future drivers helped people realize parts of the future were closer than they thought by surfacing everyone’s unique experience and expertise, as each participant focused on specific areas of the healthcare technology ecosystem.

Identifying these future areas also helped us figure out where we might be uniquely positioned as an organization so that we could identify high-value projects for the Innovation Studio backed by evidence and executive buy-in. These workshops also helped elevate the role of design at the organization within an engineering-focused firm and lean into the team’s broader expertise, as we later brought some of our healthcare experts in for a backcasting exercise for a client.

We also used concept prototypes to sell work to clients that integrated numerous teams, helping them think more broadly about potential solutions to pressing problems and expanding our business.