Mitigating Medical Errors Through User-Centered Design: Communication Platform for Patient Safety

Medical errors, defined as preventable adverse events resulting from healthcare delivery pose persistent and significant challenges to hospitals worldwide. Medical errors during patient care pose a significant threat to patient safety and cause emotional, physical, and financial harm. Through a habitat study and interviews, it was identified that lack of effective communication among the doctors, staff, and department contributes to the majority of medical errors during patient care. Due to the fear of penalisation, a blame culture among the staff is prevalent thus preventing error reporting. This necessitates a multifaceted approach that tackles both individual factors and systemic issues within the hospitals. Various design methodologies were employed to arrive at the framework for the solution. To address the challenges, three ways integrated tablet device was proposed allowing transparent communication between doctors, hospital staff, and patients. This solution was developed using structured approaches such as drafting user flows, creating low-fidelity screens, and finally creating high-fidelity prototypes. This user-centered approach has the potential to significantly reduce medical errors during patient care by fostering a culture of open communication. This collaborative environment has the potential to create a safer hospital environment for doctors, staff, and patients showcasing the impact of user-centred design tackling critical healthcare challenges.