Edible antennae, Wi-Fi-enabled bathroom scales and insect decals in Dutch urinals may not seem like part of the revolution in healthcare, but at GE’s recent healthymagination summit in New York, Tim Brown, president and CEO of design and innovation consulting firm IDEO, artfully weaved them into the mix. The event brought together thought leaders on the subject of how information technology in particular is making hospitals and doctors more efficient and patients safer — and Tim’s talk centered on what he calls “designing for behavior change.” It’s all about taking lessons learned from the world of design and applying it to the healthcare space so that small lifestyle changes, often fueled by new technologies, can have enormously positive results when it comes to improving health. In the clip below, Tim dives into two of the four principles that he says are key to individuals taking control of their own health: self-measurement and the need to balance impulsive behaviors.
Another principle that ties design thinking to healthcare is the need to approach problems from a “system level” so that we can all see the way in which the odds of making changes are often stacked against us. For example, Tim cited a study that showed people are three times more likely to be obese if they lived near other obese people. Understanding that it’s not just fast food and bad habits that are at play — but even your neighbors and community — is essential if someone is going to realistically tackle their weight problem.
The focus on design — and humanizing technologies and patient experiences — is one that GE has been pursuing in areas such as innovative product designs that are intended to both improve care and make an emotional connection with patients. It can also be seen in our pilot program to reduce stress in children undergoing imaging scans through the use of “adventure” themes, such as pirate and mermaid stories, in scanning rooms. The transformation of the equipment and the experience, which immerses a child in a story before and during the procedure, is already substantially reducing the need for sedation during the scans.
And as for the urinal decal, Tim — to many laughs from the crowd — cited it as a certainly offbeat but nevertheless crystal clear example of how design can dramatically change behavior. Many European men’s rooms over the years had posted signs urging patrons to help keep them clean in an effort “to reduce the effects of male inaccuracy,” he diplomatically explained. But the results from rushing travelers, particularly in railway stations and airports, were consistently poor. Then an airport in Holland tried putting decals of a small, single, common housefly in urinals, and it “had an incredible effect… and has reduced the mess in restrooms by as much as 80 percent,” he explained, “because by giving the guys something to look at, they aim better.”
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