Digital innovation in healthcare
The digital age has led to many innovations in healthcare. Care robots and medication lockers, for example, are nothing new under the sun. Innovations must ensure that healthcare becomes better, faster and more accessible.
Various organizations are involved in the realization of these digital innovations. Dynamic Health Systems is such an organization. In collaboration with Iquality, they are working to further innovate their services in the field of digital and accessible patient support.
Dynamic Health Systems and VitruCare
Dynamic Health Systems (DHS) is active in the United Kingdom. The organization developed the "PEACH®" service. This is a service for the support of people with chronic diseases and other people who need complex care. The service is aimed at enabling these patients to improve their health and quality of life. The service must also provide a new way of collaboration between patients and healthcare providers. For example, the frequency of doctor visits can be reduced without compromising the quality of healthcare.
Within the framework of this service, Dynamic Health Systems created the Patient Engagement Platform “VitruCare®”. This platform is currently used by the NHS, National Health Service, the public health care system in the UK.
VitruCare® is a personal platform with mini apps for patients. These apps include health trackers, a contact option with the doctor and so-called Goal Setting and Action Planning.
Goal Setting and Action Planning
Research has shown that when people set goals and pursue them on their own initiative, the outcomes are more positive than when these goals are assigned by someone else. With this knowledge, DHS went to work within their digital service VitruCare® with the Goal Setting and Action Planning app.
The app is aimed at enabling the patient to set goals based on data from the trackers in VitruCare®. The goals can come from the health advice that the platform generates based on the data from the trackers, but they can also be devised on their own initiative.
The trackers display data such as BMI, blood pressure and weight, but also the emotional state of the patient. The patient wants to get started with this and improve his or her health? Then the app helps with determining the goals and planning a feasible action plan.
Healthcare is of course about people, so the aim was to make the application more user-friendly and human-centered.
Conversational User Interface
Previously this application worked via a static survey. Our UX designers and developers have started working with DHS to improve this application.
Healthcare is of course about people, so the aim was to make the application more user-friendly and human-centered.
It was therefore decided to turn it into a Conversation UI, which guides the patient in setting goals and making an action plan. In this way the user is optimally served and supported by the app.
Roelien Tippe has worked as a UX designer on the design of the Conversational UI and says: "The app had to become a real Personal Care Companion: a digital assistant that motivates patients and help them plan for a healthier lifestyle." The Conversational UI must ensure that patients are guided in the process. Regarding the follow-up, Roelien says the following: “We have started working on a number of scenarios and so-called Happy-Flows for the Conversational UI, scenarios in which no deviations occur. The next step is to cover more possible scenarios."
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