UI/UX is a key component of any app – especially for life and death industries like healthcare.
In fact, achieving the right user experience can be especially complicated for healthcare, which involves high-stakes tasks and specialized information. The responsibility of UX is great: not only to ensure comfort and privacy, but also the safety and wellbeing of users.
For this reason, excellent UI/UX design is vital to the healthcare app industry. Let’s go into some example features and challenges, so you can take the pulse on UI/UX for healthcare.
Why UI/UX design for healthcare
UI/UX for healthcare apps has huge potential. High-quality UX design can unlock exciting app results, such as:
- improve wellbeing, disease prevention, therapy, etc.
- monitor at-home health
- get immediate access to health info and reports
- improve hospital processes and scheduling
- integrate with telemedicine appointments
- create seamless payment and logistics
Of course, success depends on having top UX, so that users understand how to use and make the most of available healthcare features.
Typical features of healthcare apps
Healthcare apps have a diverse set of goals and applications. For example, a fitness app that tracks exercise has a different scope than an app intended to boost prescription adherence. However, across the diverse spectrum of healthcare apps, many share certain features, including:
- boosting daily health goals (gamification, etc.)
- tracking health records and prescriptions
- scheduling remote patient consultations and interactions
- managing vital signs
- integrating with other healthcare technologies (wearables, etc.)
- paying for health services
- creating fitness and exercise plans
- promoting wellness (water intake, sleep, etc.)
- getting emergency health access
- other resources
As you can see, many of these features aren’t simple from a user point-of-view. That’s why UI/UX for healthcare is even more important.
Challenges of UI/UX for healthcare
Healthcare is a specialized field that requires extra attention when designing for apps. Some common challenges include:
Designing for diverse target audiences
Healthcare apps may be used by patients, doctors, family members and more. Some users may not be digital-savvy. Diverse users may need distinct content. Others may feel wary about placing health details on a digital platform. UI/UX needs to address and alleviate all these needs.
Ensuring specialist-approved content
Available healthcare content must be accurate and appropriate for every individual user. All content, including UX instructions, should be specialist-approved to make sure all potential liability is covered.
Healthcare info is sensitive personal data. Apps will need to handle and process data within privacy and HIPAA regulations in order to ensure maximum compliance.
Accessible and empathetic onboarding
Onboarding is the #1 way to ensure diverse users know their way around your app. Creating app signage and directions that allow for empathetic onboarding is a plus.
