Project duration: 5 months
1. Initial Focus: The project began with the aim of enhancing the patient journey through the hospital, starting from admission to discharge. I was tasked with designing user-friendly interfaces and touchpoints that would make the experience more seamless for both patients and healthcare staff. This involved:
Mapping patient touchpoints, including waiting areas, consultation rooms, and post-treatment feedback.
Analyzing staff workflows to identify pain points in their daily operations included 1:1 conversation, group discussions and observational research.
Understanding key patient interactions, such as appointments, billing, and post-treatment care by doing roleplaying activities to be able to step into the shoes of a patient.
Overview slide from the presentation done with the entire team towards the end of the project.
2. Shift in Focus:
Streamlining Internal Systems: As I delved deeper into the processes, it became clear that many internal systems were disjointed, leading to inefficiencies that affected both patient and staff experiences. To address this, I undertook a broader initiative to streamline internal systems, which involved:
Weekly check-ins: A simple rectangular table was designed for the workspace that allowed a representative from each department to attend the meetings and identify issues and close communication gaps. Leading to whatsapp group and robust communication channels put in place.
Standardizing Processes: I worked with different departments, including nursing, administration, and billing, to standardize their workflows. This reduced delays and eliminated redundancies.
Introducing Digital Solutions: In conjunction with a local vendor installed a hospital management software to automate routine tasks, such as appointment scheduling, billing, and feedback collection. This improved both accuracy and speed, reducing the load on the administrative staff. It helped us manage our inventory better and take note of
Optimizing Communication: One of the biggest challenges was fragmented communication between departments. I facilitated the adoption of a centralized communication platform to ensure seamless coordination, especially between the medical staff and administration.
3. Creating Feedback Loops: A key aspect of improving both patient and staff experiences was the creation of feedback mechanisms. I designed a digital feedback system that allowed patients to rate their experience at various stages of their care. This data was analyzed in real-time to:
Address issues immediately.
Inform decision-making at both the operational and administrative levels.
Track patient satisfaction metrics, which helped the hospital gain insights into areas of improvement.
4. Data Collection and Analysis: Collecting and analyzing data became a cornerstone of the project. I worked on creating dashboards and analytics tools that provided hospital leadership with valuable insights. This allowed for:
Continuous tracking of patient satisfaction.
Identifying trends in staff productivity and operational bottlenecks.
Using data to drive decisions, such as allocating more resources to high-demand departments or adjusting staffing schedules based on patient influx patterns.
5. Improved Ratings and Business Outcomes: As a result of these efforts, the hospital saw a marked improvement in its overall ratings. Patients reported higher satisfaction with both the quality of care and the administrative processes. This also positively impacted the hospital's reputation, which contributed to an increase in patient volume.
6. Evolution into Business Improvement: Although the project began with a UX design focus, it evolved into a broader business transformation initiative. By applying design thinking to various facets of the hospital's operations, I helped the leadership team rethink how the hospital could run more efficiently while still providing top-quality care. My role expanded to include:
Advising on operational strategies.
Working with leadership to set long-term goals for continuous improvement.
Aligning the hospital’s services with patient needs, improving not only the experience but also the bottom line.
Conducted trainings on ‘crisis management’; ‘team building and role play’; and ‘empathy’
Conclusion: This project underscored the power of UX and service design in transforming not just the user experience but also the operational backbone of an organization. What began as a design-driven initiative to improve patient satisfaction evolved into a comprehensive business transformation, enhancing the hospital’s overall efficiency and setting it up for sustained success.
