Abstract
This case study covers the implementation of a live prototype aimed at addressing the issue of overcrowding at the emergency department (ED) of the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital (ASMN) in Reggio Emilia (Italy). It was facilitated by a team of service designers and management engineers from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (UNIMORE), and a working group of 15 professionals composed of doctors, nurses and auxiliaries. The live prototype involved the 150+ staff of the emergency department and over 3,750 patients over a period of 34 days. The end result of the service was a smoother patient flow that reduced waiting time by 38%, and had a patient satisfaction rating of 94% increased staff-patient communication. The service also carried negative effects on how doctor’s viewed their professional identity, and caused stress due to uncontrollable noise limits.
Keywords
service design, live prototyping, healthcare, emergency department
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/servdes2016.53
Citation
Starnino, A., Dosi, C.,and Vignoli, M.(2016) Designing the Future, Engineering Reality: Prototyping in the Emergency Department, in Morelli, N., de Götzen, A., & Grani, F. (eds.), ServDes 2016: Service Design Geographies, 24–26 May, Copenhagen, Denmark. https://doi.org/10.21606/servdes2016.53
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Research Papers
Designing the Future, Engineering Reality: Prototyping in the Emergency Department
This case study covers the implementation of a live prototype aimed at addressing the issue of overcrowding at the emergency department (ED) of the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital (ASMN) in Reggio Emilia (Italy). It was facilitated by a team of service designers and management engineers from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (UNIMORE), and a working group of 15 professionals composed of doctors, nurses and auxiliaries. The live prototype involved the 150+ staff of the emergency department and over 3,750 patients over a period of 34 days. The end result of the service was a smoother patient flow that reduced waiting time by 38%, and had a patient satisfaction rating of 94% increased staff-patient communication. The service also carried negative effects on how doctor’s viewed their professional identity, and caused stress due to uncontrollable noise limits.