Service Design’s Superpowers for Implementing AI-Based Healthcare

Background

The healthcare landscape is rapidly evolving, with technology playing an increasingly central role. As service designers, we are at the forefront of this transformation, shaping the future of healthcare with artificial intelligence (AI). However, while AI holds enormous potential, it presents numerous unique challenges. To design successful AI-based services, we need to navigate many spaces to successfully implement new-to-the-world healthcare experiences that cover customer experience, data ethics, technical hurdles, and political complexities that come with it.

At Ubie, we’re aiming to revolutionize healthcare through the power of artificial intelligence. We aim to provide accurate, convenient, and affordable healthcare services to everyone, anywhere and anytime. As a part of this team of designers, engineers, and doctors, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the challenges many in the US face seeking the proper care, the clarity around value propositions for these services, and where our brand fits into the industry. With that focus, I’ve started documenting areas where service designers can be at the forefront of shaping a better healthcare guide for everyone.

So here is a short list of Service Design Superpowers that consider where magic can happen by combining human ingenuity with the best of artificial intelligence to revolutionize the future of healthcare:

• Co-Creating Patient-Centric Services
• Designing Transparent Touchpoints
• Simplifying Wayfinding in a Complex Ecosystem
• Creating (AI) Service Feedback Loops
• Challenging the System’s Status Quo (Norms, Policy, Cost, etc.)

Co-Creating Patient-Centric Services

At the heart of service design is the principle of being user-centered or, in the healthcare space, patient-centric. This means co-creating concepts with patients (and doctors) to discover opportunities where AI can play the role of a trusted companion to help you find relevant health information, understand medical jargon, and make informed decisions about care. As service designers, we must ensure that AI tools are designed around the needs and experiences of patients, enhancing their ability to manage their health and engage with healthcare services.

Designing Transparent Touchpoints

Trust is paramount for the adoption of AI in healthcare. As AI systems become more prevalent, questions around data privacy and security inevitably arise. Addressing these concerns with potential solutions for protecting patient data through technologies like blockchain is not enough. We must go above and beyond by overcommunicating how data is collected, used, protected and, ultimately, why this is relevant to YOU (the patient). Ensuring that AI systems are transparent, secure and respect patient privacy is vital to building trust and encouraging their adoption.

Simplifying Wayfinding in a Complex Ecosystem

Designing AI-based services involves simplifying the navigation of a complex service ecosystem. AI has the potential to streamline healthcare processes, reducing the administrative burden on doctors and enhancing patient-doctor communication. Contrary to the belief that AI replaces us, it has the potential to enable doctors to spend more time with patients, ultimately improving empathetic care and reducing the stress of receiving proper care and the cognitive load for doctors managing multiple tasks and patients.

Creating (AI) Service Feedback Loops

AI also holds significant potential for preventive care. In their paper, “Role of Artificial Intelligence in Preventive Healthcare”, Shivani Singh and colleagues discuss how AI can analyze health data, predict disease risks, and provide personalized recommendations for preventive measures. Effective data collection and analysis are crucial for realizing this potential, enabling us to provide proactive, personalized care that keeps patients healthy rather than just treating them when they are sick. Imagine a future where we can significantly reduce the risk of late diagnosis. Making diseases like cancer more treatable through early forms of detection in the moments when people least expect they should be receiving care.

Challenging the System’s Status Quo

Designing a future with AI-based services involves challenging the current status quo of the healthcare system. Outside of the experience, we need to question how the system itself works, considering the design of policy and cost models that prioritize value-based care services that deliver the highest service quality service at the lowest possible price. This requires us to reimagine how healthcare is delivered, putting the patient at the center, building trust in new technologies, simplifying complex processes, and leveraging data to provide preventive care.

Conclusion

I’m an optimist who believes service designers can champion how we reshape this future. Ensuring that AI is used to create healthcare services that are not only technologically advanced but also ethical, user-friendly, and patient-centered. The integration of AI in healthcare presents both challenges and opportunities.

As we navigate this new terrain, we must keep the patient at the center of our designs and strive to create feedback loops that will improve AI technologies to foster trust in this technology with life-changing possibilities. By enabling patients to find the right care and leveraging data for preventative care, we can challenge the status quo and create a future of healthcare that is more accessible, more efficient, and more effective.