Simple usability is what matters most in human-centric healthcare product design

Amy Schwartz knows that product design isn’t just about making things look pretty. A trained cognitive psychologist, Schwartz said product design is about making devices usable and human-centered.
But unfortunately, she said, healthcare is behind the times when it comes to product design. Schwartz, now an adjunct professor at Northwestern University’s Segal Design Institute and a human-centric design thought leader at Battelle, advises and teaches about healthcare design. She will be presenting on the topic at the Digital and Personal Connected Health Conference in Las Vegas on March 5.
“The right way to do it is to actually spend some time watching what people do and being in the context of what you are designing [and how it] is going to be used,” Schwartz said. “If you are in a healthcare setting, spend the time to understand the workflow and what goes on there. Then start with some early prototypes of what you are designing and have people try them out.”
Unlike the consumer world, hospitals are often hierarchical. For example, when nursing technology is being developed, the hospital might look for a surgeon’s input instead of input from nurses.