Project detail
HiCare
A portable navigation system designed to assist patients in efficiently navigating hospital environments
UI/UX, Product Design, VI Design
2023 Summer
Haidian Hospital
High-Fi
The Problem:
Beijing Haidian Community Hospital boasts excellent medical resources, yet it is commonly regarded by patients as having a 'poor healthcare experience.' How can we improve the hospital's healthcare experience through user-friendly design?
The Solution:
Interactive devices can help users navigate the hospital and estimate wait times, while clearer visual identity (VI) design can provide additional directional guidance.
Research Process：
Before seeking solutions, I need to refine the problem through research. I have chosen the following 5 key questions to focus on:
What is the patient demographic at the hospital?
What negative feedback do patients have about their experience at Haidian Hospital? What are the core issues?
How do patients interact with the hospital?
What improvements do patients most need?
What is the perspective on using technology to improve the patient experience?
After conducting field visits, experiencing the medical process (treatment for foot hyperplasia), and talking to over 20 patients, here are my findings:
The patient demographic is mainly middle-aged and elderly individuals. The average age is above 45.
Middle-aged patients mainly visit to check on mild symptoms of illnesses. These patients have limited time for medical visits.
Elderly patients mainly seek regular long-term treatments or follow-up visits.
Most patients tend to get lost in the hospital and are unable to find the target department based on the current signage design.
Patients often miss steps in the medical process or queue incorrectly, especially when two departments are located very close to each other, leading to long waits without being able to register.
The hospital front desk is often too busy, and staff may sometimes give incorrect directions or treat patients rudely.
Some elderly patients have difficulty hearing the doctor, leading to communication issues.
Patients have a positive attitude towards technology, but they are concerned about not being able to operate it or privacy and security issues.
*Because the sample size is limited, the results may not be fully accurate. To reduce bias, I referenced concepts from the book Design for Older Adults in the design process.
Based on these findings, I created two personas: one representing the 40+ working demographic and one representing elderly patients over 60 with long-term medical needs.
In addition, I created a service blueprint and user journey map based on the medical process at Haidian Hospital. The purpose of this is to gain a clearer understanding of the medical process and identify the challenges users face during their visits, as well as potential opportunities for improvement.
In conclusion, I plan to focus on the following key points in the design:
A navigation design that is easier to understand and follow.
Providing appropriate and accurate information when users need additional details.
Reminding users to queue in the correct areas.
Providing communication methods that are 'hearing-impaired friendly.
Supporting designs for people with visual impairments.
产品需要对老年人友好，包括“不擅长使用电子产品的人群）
Creating interactive tools that align with the cognitive models of older adults, and informing users about privacy and security details.
Design Process
Is app on phone a good solution?
Many of our target users are not very skilled at using smartphones. Some users even have little to no experience with them. We have tried various approaches to determine a more reasonable device design. The factors we considered include:
Whether the interactive buttons are large enough
Whether the buttons are distinguishable (some elderly people cannot differentiate between buttons and images)
Whether the text is clear enough
Whether the device is easy to carry
We have tried three common media available on the market, but have not found one that is particularly suitable.
Hand-held device design
鉴于市面上缺乏适合“不擅长使用数字产品”的用户的手持便携device, 我选择设计出更加合适的硬件设施。
I referred to the previous service blueprint to determine the functions the device should have at each step of the medical process.
I organized these functions and placed them in positions suitable for user interaction tools (low-fidelity prototype).
based on these images, I designed the corresponding hardware device and the appearance of the interactive pages, and created medium-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes.
UX Design Outcome
针对以上设计痛点，我计划设计一个对“缺少手机使用经历”的医院导览设备。
首先，我根据先前的service blue print 确定了设备在每一个就医步骤中应具有的功能。
其次，我整理了这些功能，并把它放在用户交互工具适合的位置（低保真原型）。
再之后，我根据这些图像设计出对应的硬件设备，交互页面的样子，并制作中等保真原型，高保真原形。
Mid-fi Prototype
High-fi Prototype
VI Design Outcome
After designing the electronic product, I made adjustments to the hospital navigation system with the goal of improving clarity (larger font), reducing confusion in wording (inconsistent department names), and displaying the user's exact location.
After designing the electronic product, I made adjustments to the hospital navigation system with the goal of improving clarity (larger font), reducing confusion in wording (inconsistent department names), and displaying the user's exact location.
Discussion of Limitations：
During my interviews, I encountered two illiterate patients. One of them couldn't speak Mandarin (she spoke a dialect) and couldn't read Chinese characters. Her daughter accompanied her to the hospital and acted as her translator/assistant throughout the process.
The other patient was a rural woman from the countryside of Harbin, who brought her comatose uncle (who had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage) to Beijing for medical treatment. She could speak Mandarin but couldn’t read Chinese characters.
I realized that the challenges faced by illiterate groups (especially those who neither recognize characters nor speak Mandarin) were overlooked in my design as well as the reference that I studied (perhaps because of the difference between elderly groups in China and the U.S.).
For patients who can’t read Chinese characters, perhaps a clickable text that plays audio and more detailed signage images could help them understand. But for patients who neither read Chinese characters nor speak Mandarin, the situation becomes much more complicated.
A possible solution for now might be a "literacy version" of the non-profit software Be My Eyes, where bilingual speakers (both fluent in the dialect and the native language) could assist patients in communicating with healthcare providers.
*In China, many dialects haven’t been widely researched, so it’s difficult to create reliable translation models between dialects and Mandarin, especially for dialects with fewer speakers.
*I truly admire the two illiterate patients/relatives I interviewed. For them, I realized that being able to speak Mandarin as my mother tongue is a privilege.
*I wish them, as well as all the patients I interviewed, a speedy recovery.
