How Design Thinking is improving Patient-Caregiver

conversations

SUBMITTED BY: -
Gunjan Yadav
Roll No. 10
PGDM- HCM

STAGE OF DESIGN THINKING DISCUSSED- INSIGHTS

This case study was published in Harvard Business Review in November 2017, by
Dirk Deichmann and Roel van der Heijde. It discusses about how a team from
Rotterdam Eye Hospital (USA) used design thinking to reduce fear and anxiety
among patients who were undergoing eye surgeries when they interact with the
caregivers for their consultation process. It identified four different types of patient
reactions and came up with targeted solutions on how doctors can respond in
accordance with the type by catching their verbal and nonverbal cues, thereby
reducing patient anxiety and fear.
The Hospital administrators previously had used other lower-tech measures which
included designing a more engaging website, replacing harsher lights with softer
lights and wood parquet, and providing matching t-shirts to the children and the
paediatric ophthalmologists to improve healthcare services because they believed
that reducing the fear of patients will lead to greater patient satisfaction.

The four different types of patient reactions discussed were as follows: -

PATIENT VERBAL AND NONVERBAL SOLUTION
REACTIONS CUES
Google patients  Believes that they know  Provide thorough
the causation of their information
disease about the
 Judge caregivers if their consultation
opinion does not match process for
with theirs better clarity
 Controlled gestures,
monotone speech
Dominant patients  Might get angry if told to  Design efficient
come for multiple follow- consultation and
ups treatment
 Impatient, does not like to process
talk around the bush  Talk directly with
them
Quiet patients  Dislike giving negative  Ask multiple
feedback to caregivers questions
 Soft handshake  One-on-one
conversations
with them if
 present in a
group
Emotional patients  Dramatic gestures  Build a personal
 Likes to engage in small relationship
talk  Give reassurance

The program is now 14 years old as the first trial group consisting of doctors and
supporting staff was trained in 2010. After that, the entire staff are trained on a
yearly basis. They were made aware of the four types of patient reactions and were
then organized into small groups to understand other types and how to respond
accordingly. They then applied these techniques and what they have learned in their
job and after 2-3 weeks were asked to share their experiences.

INSIGHTS EXPLAINED
 After each training program, the caregivers were surveyed annually for
several years. For example- In the year 2016, the staff at the hospital gave a
rating of 8.7 out of 10 pointer scale to the training sessions that were
conducted.
 96% of the respondents wanted more of these sessions to be conducted as
they found them quite insightful and helpful when dealing with the patients.
 Apart from the intended outcome, this program also resulted in greater
coordination among the staff members.
 The program lead to higher patient satisfaction level. In 2016, Mediquest ( a
research firm) surveyed 850 of the Rotterdam’s Eye Hospital’s patients and
asked them to indicate on a scale of 0 (very unlikely) to 10 ( very likely) the
likelihood that they would recommend this hospital to their family and
friends. The hospital got 74% score which was the highest among all the
hospitals surveyed.
 Similar model was adopted by various other hospitals like Irishof, a special
nursing home for visually impaired elders where they used the same
categories but added one which dealt with how the four types deal with grief
and declining health.
Nowadays, the use of technology like Predictive Analysis, Artificial Intelligence,
Telemedicine, and electronic health records in the healthcare sector has really
transformed the way this sector works now. However, in the midst of all the
technological advancements, we cannot forget the importance and role of the
human touch in the field of healthcare. This case study rightly highlights how using
non-tech measures as simple as targeting how to understand the fear of the
patient and adding a personal connection can have a huge impact on the
improvement of healthcare services and higher patient satisfaction levels.

REFERENCE
https://hbr.org/2017/11/how-design-thinking-is-improving-patient-caregiver-
conversations