With the rapid advancements in technology and the increasing demand for patient-centric care, healthcare UX design is becoming more important than ever before. Crafting intuitive and meaningful interactions with digital healthcare solutions is paramount to enhancing the patient journey and empowering medical professionals.
As a product agency, we are excited that professional designs can help people get better and live healthier lives. We are monitoring the latest trends in UX healthcare and will describe the most perspective ones in this article.
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UX Healthcare Design Challenges in 2023
According to Statista, the global digital health market will grow at a CAGR of 25% by 2025. As more healthcare providers implement digital solutions, patients and medical workers will demand functional but also intuitive and seamless user experience.
For instance, imagine a doctor’s dashboard for remote patient monitoring. A confusing display of data for blood pressure or insulin level can cause deadly mistakes. Similarly, the patient’s app with a perplexing interface can hinder recovery or communication with the physician.
Underestimating the UX in healthcare might lead to severe fallouts incomparable to any other industry. That is why healthcare software designs have to be stress-free and robust.
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Top 10 Digital Healthcare UX Trends
Physical exercise apps, smart bracelets, and video consulting have already gained a steadfast position in everyday life. Let's see what other innovations await their turn and examine prominent UX healthcare examples.
1. AI and Chatbots
AI and chatbot algorithms can overtake many tasks and assist medical workers in peak hours and critical circumstances. For example, the WHO Facebook chatbot helped to fight ignorance and panic caused by COVID-19.
Simple menu chatbots already help with booking appointments, checking health conditions, and reminding about taking treatment. The implementation of AI would increase the functionality of chatbots. For instance, the IBM Watsons Assistant is able to track down lab reports, pay bills, and instruct patients how to help themselves with simple inquiries.
AI algorithms work perfectly for analyzing large amounts of medical data, such as drug effectiveness measurements or medical image interpretation. Another task of AI is managing hospital documentation and reducing paperwork. AI is also capable of giving treatment recommendations and assisting with diagnosis.
No doubt that AI is the distinct leader in healthcare strategy & trends.
2. Digital products for mental health
Wysa's independent survey of 2022 shows that four out of ten American employees suffer from symptoms of depression or anxiety. And yet less than 7% access assistance programs because of stigma. Amazingly, people opened up to an AI conversation partner more willingly, therefore healthcare UX in this case is a vital agent to establish contact. Wysa uses soft colors and a friendly therapist penguin avatar to reach out to employees.
Meditation apps are another way to prevent burnout. Such solutions help direct your thoughts toward mindfulness and teach how to reduce stress. Arounda team has had the most pleasant experience developing a UI/UX design for the Bold meditation app.
3. Telehealth
Telehealth, telemedicine, or virtual health lets your clinic care for you without an in-person office visit. Patients can set an appointment with a health professional and get individual consultations via video chat, phone call, or text message. No more tiresome waiting hours at a doctor’s office to ask a simple question!
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is one of the options for telehealth care. This technology helps transmit a patient’s vital signs from wearable devices in real time. One of the impressive examples is the Dexcom continuous glucose monitoring system (CGM) which allows people with diabetes to read their glucose level continuously.
Telehealth is one of the most widespread future trends in healthcare facility design.
4. Digital therapeutics (DTx)
DTx is a medical software that allows patients to manage particular diseases and prevent exacerbation. The solution is always clinically evaluated and accessible on smartphones or tablets.
Take a look at the Lark digital coach. The system helps you build good habits step by step and reach personal health goals such as losing weight, sleeping better, quitting tobacco, managing blood sugar, or reducing blood pressure.
5. Vocal biomarkers
EVOCAL Health is a top-rate company that proposes clinically-proven digital diagnostics based on vocal biomarkers and AI. Simply put, technology can tell whether you are healthy or not from the sound of your voice. Speaking might seem a simple and inconspicuous process. But it requires the coordination of different organs, muscles, and sensory nerves. If one component fails, it can be detected and interpreted with UX healthcare apps.
6. Virtual and Augmented Reality
VR headset devices complemented by software systems allow patients and medical professionals to visualize situations they could hardly meet in reality. For example, students can conduct training in surgical operations. Doctors actually see under your skin with the AccuVein scanner when they make injections.
AR frees patients from anxiety and PTSD and partly substitutes medical procedures and drugs. Another example is the AppliedVR immersive therapeutics. VRx shows patients new ways to process chronic pain and teaches them how to develop coping skills.
7. Medical wearables
Smart bracelets, smartwatches, or fitness monitor apps on the phone are the most common examples of medical wearables. They do small yet vital chores: check the pressure, heartbeat and sugar level, count steps, and measure numerous medical metrics.
Wearables help us realize how we live and change daily habits toward a healthier lifestyle. These portable sensors often become a part of Remote patient monitoring and deliver medical data directly to the physiatrist.
Healthcare UX design for medical wearables is a special case. You need to place numbers and charts on a small screen and carefully balance the data visualization's colors.
8. Voice User Interfaces
We owe the rapid development of voice user interfaces to the world COVID pandemic. In 2019 it became crucial to avoid contact with people and devices and reduce the spread of infection to a minimum.
Nowadays, voice control technology can ensure the safer usage of public devices such as ATMs or ticket machines. This way, UI/UX design healthcare moves further to the city streets.
Voice user interfaces also enable contactless manipulations where the risk of infection is critical, for example, while nursing premature babies.
9. Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT)
Missing a doctor’s appointment because of transport issues is a frequent case. The transportation problem affects patients with disabilities, the anxiety about public transport, and people in rural areas to a much bigger extent. But where there is a problem, there is a service.
Modicare has three decades of experience helping patients reach their care destination no matter where or when the appointment is. The core of the service is innovative software that improves the administration of rides. UX healthcare design for the web portal and mobile application is another essential part of the NEMT system.
10. Digital health tools for pets
Treating pets is similar to treating human patients with all the same challenges plus one additional - cats and dogs can’t tell where it hurts. Luckily, smart trackers such as collars and harnesses supply medical data and allow owners to keep their pets healthy.
Wrapping Up
Digital products for medical care can significantly improve the global health level, yet they are the most responsible and sensitive implementation of technology and design. User experience in medical interfaces can either improve people's well-being or lead to crucial mistakes of frustration. That is why UX healthcare designs have to be human-centered and well-thought.
Arounda team has been developing mastery in UI/UX for more than five years through web and app design as well as SaaS and AI projects. Finding solutions for healthcare is the biggest challenge a designer can wish for, and we look forward to it.
If you need assistance creating a friendly and robust digital product, just drop us a line.
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Frequently asked questions
- What is the future of UX in healthcare?
Interfaces and designs will develop to become even more human-centric and personalized. For example, chatbots will strive to be less robotic, and smartwatches are expected to reduce in size.
- What is the next big trend in UX healthcare design 2023?
We believe that accessibility and inclusiveness will become one of the first bullet points in every meeting agenda and drive a positive shift in digital healthcare products.
- What is the most widespread innovation in healthcare?
Telemedicine that enables remote consultations and diagnoses is offered in various formats by clinics, hospitals, and private professionals worldwide.
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