8 Tips to Design in Healthcare

Hey designers! 

You still could contribute to the medical healthcare industry even if you are not a doctor. Yeap, go on and share that with your parents 😆 

Learn the 8 Tips to design in healthcare that could bring smiles to your users - and make them feel better!

1. Avoid using medical jargon
   Do not use complex medical jargon in your design. Use language that everyone could understand. This will ease the patient’s journey from start to  end. Not all patients are well-versed in medical jargon. Design your healthcare product where the family of the patient or caretakers could use it seamlessly to assist the patient, especially during emergency.
   
   
2. Spend time in the hospital
   Be in your user’s shoes. Study your users in their habitat; hospitals or clinics. Understand their needs and plan out your design solutions. Get inspiration from pamphlets, posters, and buntings which you could incorporate into your design. Analyze their routines and behaviors.
   
   
3. Leverage data visualization
   Keep your design simple and attractive. Data visualization allows fast information consumption.  Experiment with charts, fonts, and colors that trigger users to read and understand the message  that you want to convey.

Read about How To Design A Healthcare App That Makes Its Users Happier.

4. Get input from different team members
   Discuss and share your design ideas with different team members, such as the engineering teams or product management teams. They could give advice on what could be improved, what should be removed, what design has worked before and what design has failed.
   
   The collaboration of ideas from different team members allows you to create meaningful design that brings impact to your users.

4. Use storytelling methods
   Explain the “What”, the “Why”, the “Where”, the “Which”, and the “How” through engaging stories . Capture your users’ attention in your introduction, continue the story flow with in-depth information, and end with a health solution such as using a healthcare app to check on the medical dosage that the user requires to consume instead of going back to the hospital to get the answer.
   
   Get to know the Top 5 Healthcare Tech Trends Poised for Growth in 2022.
   
   
5. Design with patients and hospital staff
   Create inclusitivity in your design. There are many types of patients with different types of illnesses and disabilities. Ask for their opinions on your design in healthcare. You might get information that you never would have thought of and create better designs.
   
   Who else could share with you better input on healthcare than the hospital staff themselves? Build good rapport and get the hospital staff's perspectives in creating your healthcare design.
   
   
6. Connect patients to hospital services
   Assist patients to get the help they need through your design. Simplify their experience by connecting with their doctors, booking their appointments/healthcare treatments, or purchasing their prescriptions.

4. Test and Improve (User Testing)
   Test, test, and test your design with your users and medical staffs. Get their feedback on the functions that have helped them the most, the functions that were redundant or design healthcare elements that are interrupting their users’ journey. 

Design in healthcare requires attention to detail in terms of understanding patients’ needs and the best way to solve their problems. It is a wise step to get medical multidisciplinary professionals’ views and different team members with different expertises to get involved in your healthcare design. 

Your design is not only helping patients to get the medical help they need but also assisting them to achieve better health. 

Watch the full recording of Breaking Barriers In Healthcare Product Design by ADPList mentors and ambassadors or book a 1:1 mentoring session with any of our mentors!