Designing an engaging UI is more important than ever in the digital world.
A medical device that functions is essential, but an effective UX/UI plays an important role in getting the patients to use the device to engage with their health data, adhere to plans of care, and communicate with their health provider. This article will explore strategies for creating interfaces that increase patient engagement, drawing from recent studies and expert insights.
What is Patient Engagement?
Designing for Health: UX/UI Principles for Improved Patient Engagement by BlackHägen Design
Patient engagement is when patients own their healthcare, manage their health conditions, make informed decisions, and successfully communicate with their healthcare providers via available methods. Improved health outcomes, reduced hospital admissions, and positive patient satisfaction are all linked to increased patient engagement.
The Role of UX/UI Design in Patient Engagement
- Intuitive Navigation
Patients need encouragement, and a user-friendly interface can help accomplish this. Regardless of a user’s tech intelligence, an interface should be intuitively easy to navigate and find data. The more frustrating a user experience is, the less likely they’ll return. Using clear labeling and logical flow is shown to improve user satisfaction and engagement. - Personalized Experience
Personalization in UX/UI design can significantly increase patient engagement. A customized interface that provides features that meet patient needs makes applications more relevant and valuable. These features include displaying relevant health metrics and reminders. Research indicates that personalized health experiences are more effective in improving patient adherence to treatment plans. - Gamification
Gamification elements in health apps can make managing health conditions more fun while reducing stress, resulting in increased engagement. Features like rewards and point systems, progress tracking, and group challenges can motivate patients to stay on top of their health. A study on the effectiveness of gamified health apps found that these elements can lead to increased physical activity and better health outcomes. - Visual Appeal
Visual design should be attractive and functional. Aesthetically pleasing interfaces are more likely to be used regularly. The design should emphasize readability and reduce cognitive load. Calming colors positively impact user engagement. - Accessibility
Designing for accessibility should be commonplace. However, it is often neglected. People with disabilities require light and dark theme selection, specific color combinations, voice commands, text-to-speech, and adjusted text sizes. There is a robust framework for creating accessible digital content Called the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Enhancing Communication with Healthcare Providers
Productive, effective communication between patients and healthcare providers is integral to patient engagement. UX/UI design can assist with this through:
Private, Secure Messaging: a secure messaging feature within health apps allows patients to communicate directly with their healthcare providers, ask questions, and receive timely responses.
Telehealth: Incorporating telehealth features into the app such as video capability gives patients easy access to virtual consultations. Implementing telehealth capability reduces the need for in-person visits, which increases convenience.
Scheduling:
Patients are more likely to make follow-up appointments when the process is not only online but also simple. This will encourage patients to stay engaged with their healthcare routines.
Conclusion
Increasing patient engagement through UX/UI design involves creating intuitive, personalized, and visually appealing interfaces that offer easy communication with healthcare providers. By utilizing these design principles, healthcare applications can motivate patients to take a more active role in managing their health, ultimately leading to better health outcomes and increased patient satisfaction.
When designing a healthcare app, well-executed UX/UI design can increase patient engagement. Intuitive, personalized, and visually appealing interfaces that offer easy communication with healthcare providers, and motivate patients to take a more active role in managing their health, ultimately leading to better health outcomes and increased patient satisfaction.
References
- Hibbard, Judith H., Greene, Jessica. (2013, February).What The Evidence Shows About Patient Activation: Better Health Outcomes And Care Experiences; Fewer Data On Costs. Health Affairs. https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2012.1061
- Fleming, Chris. (2013, 15 February). Health Policy Brief: Patient Engagement. Health Affairs. https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/health-policy-brief-patient-engagement
- Medical Website Design Principles. Imaginovation. https://imaginovation.net/blog/medical-website-design-principles/
- Kvedar,Joseph; Joel Coye, Molly; and Everet, Wendy. (2014, February). Connected Health: A Review Of Technologies And Strategies To Improve Patient Care With Telemedicine And Telehealth. Health Affairs. https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0992.
- Hamari, Juho; Koivisto, Jonna; Sarsa, Harri. (2014). Does Gamification Work? — A Literature Review of Empirical Studies on Gamification. IEEE Xplore. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6758978
- Kosslyn, Stephen M. (2006, August 10).Graph Design for the Eye and Mind. Oxford Academic. https://academic.oup.com/book/11432
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. W3. https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/
- Ancker, Jessica S.; Barrón, Yolanda; Rockoff, Maxine L.; Hauser, Diane; Pichardo, Michelle; Szerencsy, Adam; Calman, Neil. (2011, October). Use of an electronic patient portal among disadvantaged populations. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21647748
