1. Redesigning Waiting Areas in Healthcare Facilities: Using Service Design to Enhance the Patient and Visitor Experience
- Author
-
Ahmad, Maria
- Subjects
- Design, Health Care, Communication, Service design, waiting rooms, primary care, medical staff, healthcare, empathy, holistic, human-centered, user-centered, co-design
- Abstract
This research study examines how service design can improve the primary care waiting room experience in healthcare facilities, and how it can make designers and stakeholders, such as medical staff, administrators, and receptionists, empathize with patients and visitors. Research strategies include interviews and focus group sessions with patients of all genders ages 18 and over who attended a primary care doctor appointment within the last three years. Interviews provided information on the barriers and problems patients face throughout the entire waiting room experience as well as features and solutions they would like to see in a waiting room. This research revealed a recurring theme—the lack of empathy, compassion, and communication throughout the waiting room experience. Utilizing service design tools and methods led to the development of a co-creation tool, granting users the freedom to create a visual representation of their ideal waiting room experience. Service design is a driver for increasing empathy and innovation in healthcare.
- Published
- 2022