Abstract
Digital technology has permeated every aspect of our lives, including the way in which our health records are managed. Currently, healthcare providers are responsible for maintaining records with limited access or control for patients. However, because of the siloed structure of the healthcare system in Canada, patients have little access or control of their medical information Our previous research focused on understanding the patient experience and revealed pain points within their care journey. The key recommendation was to design a comprehensive patient medical record (PMR) which would give patients ownership of their health information. In response, we created a mobile app to give patients ownership and control over their medical records. The app was tested with six patients and six healthcare providers and proved successful in responding to patient pain points within the current healthcare system including: instances of misunderstandings, privacy risks, and time-consuming procedures. Responses from the study showed patients were highly satisfied with being able to access, control and share their medical records. Participants felt confident their medical information is authentic, safe, and secure. Further, they were also pleased with how the app would save time and eliminate repetitive processes during their care journey. Healthcare providers confirmed the app would improve their work experience and interaction with patients. This study demonstrates the value of designing a PMR for a mobile app and testing with real world tasks. The results from this study can be applied to improve the patient experience during care.
Keywords
user-centred design, patient experience, electronic medical record, healthcare
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2023.311
Citation
O'Dell, C.,and Gabriele, S.(2023) Improving the healthcare experience: Developing a comprehensive patient health record (PHR), in De Sainz Molestina, D., Galluzzo, L., Rizzo, F., Spallazzo, D. (eds.), IASDR 2023: Life-Changing Design, 9-13 October, Milan, Italy. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2023.311
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
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Included in
Improving the healthcare experience: Developing a comprehensive patient health record (PHR)
Digital technology has permeated every aspect of our lives, including the way in which our health records are managed. Currently, healthcare providers are responsible for maintaining records with limited access or control for patients. However, because of the siloed structure of the healthcare system in Canada, patients have little access or control of their medical information Our previous research focused on understanding the patient experience and revealed pain points within their care journey. The key recommendation was to design a comprehensive patient medical record (PMR) which would give patients ownership of their health information. In response, we created a mobile app to give patients ownership and control over their medical records. The app was tested with six patients and six healthcare providers and proved successful in responding to patient pain points within the current healthcare system including: instances of misunderstandings, privacy risks, and time-consuming procedures. Responses from the study showed patients were highly satisfied with being able to access, control and share their medical records. Participants felt confident their medical information is authentic, safe, and secure. Further, they were also pleased with how the app would save time and eliminate repetitive processes during their care journey. Healthcare providers confirmed the app would improve their work experience and interaction with patients. This study demonstrates the value of designing a PMR for a mobile app and testing with real world tasks. The results from this study can be applied to improve the patient experience during care.