The Future of Healthcare UX Design

The Future of Healthcare UX Design

As more industries begin to transition to mobile applications and software platforms for business, user experience (UX) gains critical importance. Health care is no different, tech tools are now empowering all kinds of solutions within the realm of medicine and overall health.

With innovation transforming the ways we coordinate and receive medical care, UX stands to play a unique role in the future of healthcare. A good UX design improves usability and accessibility. Paired with trending medical devices for consumers and care facilities, such a design can elevate the impact of new tools to provide more comprehensive care to patients all over the world. As telemedicine becomes more common, the evolution of healthcare UX will be significant in providing equitable and accessible treatment to the world’s most vulnerable patients.

But understanding the future of healthcare UX design requires understanding the industry. Explore the importance of good UX in healthcare and how technological advancements are evolving UX design. From here, you can get a better sense of where UX in healthcare is headed.

The Importance of Good UX in Healthcare

More adults than ever own mobile devices and are using them to help manage their healthcare. These devices are playing more prominent roles both at home and in the care facilities as patients and providers apply them in everything from data management to diagnostics. But the presence of new technology means a more complicated environment for healthcare UX design.

For patients and care providers alike, the rise of mobile technologies has added to a list of challenges that only seem to grow as time goes on. These days, the challenges include:

• Rising cybersecurity threats.

• A growing senior population.

• Accommodations for rural populations.

• Inequitable care access and outcomes.

• A seemingly never-ending pandemic.

To combat these challenges, care providers need comprehensive and accessible tech tools. This is where UX comes in.

Without an innovative and efficient UX design in the software we use to manage our care, many of us will be at a loss to access the treatments we need promptly. UX is everything when it comes to usability, accessibility, and functionality. It can be the difference between a mobile application that saves lives and one that users neglect as an option when navigating their own health.

But what makes a good UX design?

For healthcare applications, a good UX is defined by its ability to cater to the broadest possible user base. This makes accessibility and inclusivity key features for any healthcare tool.

It’s important to remember the range of users your UX won’t satisfy without suitable

accommodations in the design. For instance, seniors alone are expected to make up as much as 23.5% of the population by 2060. This growing population requires the means to access and utilize healthcare technology as treatment standards pivot. This means building in features like:

• Text size options

• Color variations

• Text-to-speech and video options

• Simple navigation

• Clarity of language and icons

Additionally, the millions of users living with some form of visual or auditory impairment, or cognitive challenge, and limited internet access across linguistic and cultural boundaries require that you implement an accessible and inclusive design. As the nature of healthcare technology shifts through tech advancements, it only

becomes more critical that application developers place value on the customizable and

accessible aspects of care tools.

Fortunately, we are seeing these features come to many of the innovations in healthcare.