Unpacking the Ecosystem of Health Care Consumers

Passive participants today simply receiving care are now taking on a greater responsibility in their health care decisions. As a result, it is more important than ever for solution providers to understand the emerging “health consumer” and the dynamics that influence their decisions.

Eunji Park, Karten Design’s Lead Design Strategist, recently presented an IDSA webinar titled, “Unpacking the Ecosystem of the Health Care Consumer” where she explored the dynamics to understanding the increasingly-empowered consumer patient. In addition, Eunji identified new opportunities for innovation through deep user insights, uncovered macro and micro contexts that influence user behaviors and needs, and defined the user experience journey and its ecosystem. Learn more here.

Here are a few highlights from the presentation:

Healthcare Consumers’ Changing Behaviors, Attitudes and Expectations

More patients are utilizing technology as a new tool for managing, diagnosing, and treating health. According to reports, nearly 67% of retirees are interested in home technologies to improve their health. Studies show that 3 out of 5 patients prefer remote consultation (telehealth) over in-person visits when they have general followups or minor health check-ups. The rise of healthcare consumerization is changing how consumers make health decisions and how they experience health care.

Ecosystem of Healthcare Consumers

In order to fully understand the emerging “health consumer” it’s important to consider multiple entities in the health care ecosystem, including patients, providers, suppliers, payers, policymakers. Moreover, it’s become increasingly important to understand their conflicting needs and priorities.

Karten Design’s Approach: Voice of the Ecosystem Analysis

This approach identifies and understands the user experience in the context of a complex industry or business category. The Voice of the Ecosystem provides a comprehensive analysis of the system’s configuration, its related spectrum of tasks and processes, and the roles and interdependencies of all entities within the ecosystem. Karten Design utilizes the Voice of the Ecosystem as a framework for innovation–to provide companies with strategic opportunity directions rooted in a systemic view of user needs and desired experiences.