Human Centered Design: What It Is & Why You Can’t Afford To Be Without It

What do you hate the most? Is it the:

• Coffee pot that leaves puddles on your countertop every morning?
• Security line at the airport?
• Inefficiency of the DMV?
• 47-year-old mattress you have to sleep on while visiting your in-laws?

Here’s a scary thought: your practice may be to your patients what the coffee pot, airport, DMV, or Nixon-era mattress is to you. The good news is that, with the help of human centered design, you can improve their experience and let them direct their anger and frustration at something else.

Your practice and the services you offer are a product, and human centered design allows you to create and offer a product that can withstand the harsh scrutiny of today’s technologically-advanced consumers.

What Is Human Centered Design?

Human centered design is all about empathizing with your patients and creating an experience that leaves them feeling good about the care and services you provide them. Human centered design is driven by keeping your patient’s needs, behaviors, and desires at the forefront of everything you do at your practice.

We have two ears and one mouth for a reason; human centered design is about listening to your patients and providing the positive experience they’re looking for.  User reviews on platforms like Google, Facebook, and Yelp allow us to get the story straight from clients and patients:

• What did they enjoy about their experience?
• What did they hate about their experience?
• Are they likely to recommend the service or product to friends and loved ones?

The answers are all right there in the reviews as long as you’re willing to pay attention.

Application of Human Centered Design

Looking through clinic reviews recently we came across the following feedback: “I don’t understand why I bother to schedule an appointment and arrive on time; I just end up sitting in the waiting room reading an out-of-date Time magazine, increasingly frustrated at my predicament.” There are multiple ways that human centered design could be applied to this patient issue, providing a better experience for patients at this clinic and leading to positive reviews that paint a better picture for prospective patients:

1. Create an app that offers online check-in and real time notifications on when the best time to arrive would be. That way, if appointments are running behind, patients will be able to spend more time at home or the office before physically arriving at the clinic for their appointment.
2. Build-in buffer time between appointments so one late arrival doesn’t throw off the entire day for all your scheduled patients.
3. Create a waiting area that people actually enjoy spending time in. Free WiFi, gourmet drinks and snacks, and comfortable lounge furniture are a great start.

This scenario is just one example; human centered design can be used to improve the experience for your patients and staff in every area of your practice. This is crucial in creating a positive presence online to connect with prospective patients who rely on user reviews when researching providers for their family’s medical needs.

Humanus Marketing Can Help You Take The Next Step In Human Centered Design

You can rely on our team to be your eyes and ears, showing you your practice from your patient’s perspective. If you don’t like what you see we can use human centered design to improve the view and bolster your reputation in an authentic way.