Learning about the needs of patients and providers within the Mass General Brigham health system

Challenge

The health system is a complex web of teams and workflows. For patients, that complexity can lead to challenges as they navigate their care experiences. Uncovering insights from both the provider and patient sides of healthcare is a critical part in creating desirable solutions.  

Topics I’ve explored through user research:

• Patient experiences with cancer care and chronic kidney disease
  
• Patient and provider reactions to health plan service offerings
• Early customer feedback about features and priorities for a postpartum digital exercise app
• User testing and stakeholder feedback on a patient mobility tool prototype 

Process

I conduct HIPAA-compliant user research to understand processes, pain points and delight points, and reactions to proposed solutions. Individual interviews with patients and providers have shown to be the most convenient and least burdensome way to learn qualitatively from our stakeholder population.

Methods:

• One-on-one in-depth interviews
  
• Focus groups / Feedback sessions / Workshops

Outcome

The insights we gather add color to how we choose to address challenges in the health system. In an environment that is often not used to ‘design,’ it is impactful to provide insights in visualized formats that a range of stakeholders can understand and find actionable.

Deliverables:

• Process maps, journey maps, workflows
• Common themes & moments of divergence
• Personas

I supported a team of MGB innovators who were looking to support pregnant and postpartum women with safe exercise plans. I co-organized a feedback session with postpartum women to understand their needs and challenges, which were then used to prioritize future app features. Learn more about the Core2U team here.

Case Study: Patient Mobility 

The Studio was invited to work on a project to improve patient mobility in the inpatient setting. To narrow in on the challenge we could solve for, we conducted interviews and held workshops with providers at Salem Hospital. Our insights shaped the project’s direction, narrowing in on improving communication between stakeholders. Learn more here.   

Case Study: Chronic Kidney Disease Care

We interviewed PCPs, nephrologists, surgeons, social workers, and ESRD nurses to learn about the current processes for treating patients with chronic kidney disease across the disease continuum. These insights led to a visualized process map which laid the groundwork for potential interventions to support patients.