User empathy is critical across domains, but particularly important in healthcare. Both patients and their supporters are at their most vulnerable moments: providers hold a unique position to create a major impact on their perspectives, anxieties, and sense of hope. Nurses and physicians who can successfully empathize with their patients enhance the care they are able to provide. The methods they use to communicate, the language they use, and even the tone of voice can make a big difference.
Beyond the empathy of individual providers, however, there exists an important opportunity for the empathic design of machines and systems within the healthcare space. Purposeful design of such systems has the potential to create impact on a much larger scale, given that these systems are used again and again for many patients**.** Below I’ll explore several case studies of successful innovations of healthcare machines and systems built on empathy.
Space adventure-themed MRI scanner
Most hospitals don’t offer a particularly warm or inviting environment. They’re built to maximize hygiene — resulting in simple, streamlined, and purpose-built designs. Some people naturally feel a sense of uneasiness walking into a hospital, which can quickly manifest into fear.
This was a critical issue for children undergoing MRIs and CT scans. Fear of the machines (from its appearance, noises, and the environment as a whole) produced resistance and tantrums that prevented children from remaining still for the required 10-30 minutes that it would take to get a proper scan. As a result, 80% of children under the age of nine required sedation for their scans. If the parent didn’t want to sedate the child, they could try again later — but this was an expensive alternative considering the cost of the scan and the physician’s time.
Doug Dietz, an industrial designer at GE Healthcare, used design thinking to empathize with patients and redesign this experience for kids. He created the MR Adventure Discovery Series, a set of immersive experiences that incorporate adventure stories like launching into outer space, traveling on a submarine, or being on a pirate ship.
“The MRI is a cylindrical spaceship transporting the patient into a space adventure. Just before the whirring and banging of the machine gets louder, the operator encourages young patients to listen closely for the moment that the craft ‘shifts into hyperdrive.’ This reframing transforms a normally terrifying ‘BOOM-BOOM-BOOM’ sound into just another part of the adventure.” — Tom and David Kelley, *Creative Confidence*
The concept, intended to shift fear into delight, was piloted at the University of Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital with overwhelming success. The number of required sedations decreased significantly, and patient satisfaction scores increased by 90%.
If you want to hear more about the design process from Dietz, hospital stakeholders, and patients, check out this video.
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