From technology to trust: human-centered innovation in healthcare

In two and a half hours, participants received an intensive, hands-on introduction to the Design Thinking process. Working in small groups on a real healthcare-related challenge, they explored how new ideas can emerge when technology is viewed from the patient perspective.

At the center of the workshop was a question that is becoming more relevant across healthcare systems: „How can patient experience and public healthcare services be designed in a world where digital information is always available?“ When information is abundant, trust, orientation, and guidance become even more important.

Rather than discussing these questions only in theory, participants worked through the process themselves – from building a shared understanding of the challenge to interviewing people with patient experience, defining a clear point of view, generating ideas, building prototypes, and testing them.

1. Understand: The workshop began with a shared reflection on the challenge. Participants exchanged their first thoughts, assumptions, and personal associations with the topic. This helped teams align their perspectives and become aware of the different experiences already present in the room.
2. Observe: Next, participants interviewed people about real patient experiences. They explored what had worked well, what had not, and where uncertainty, frustration, or unmet needs had emerged. Follow-up questions such as “why?” helped uncover deeper motivations and concerns behind what people said.
3. Define a point of view: After gathering these insights, teams came back together to synthesize what they had heard. They identified patterns, discussed underlying issues, and decided which specific problem they wanted to focus on. This step was about moving from many observations to one clear design opportunity.
4. Ideate: With a focused point of view in place, participants entered the solution space. They generated a range of possible ideas – both digital and non-digital – before selecting one concept that seemed especially relevant and valuable from the user’s perspective.
5. Prototype: The chosen idea was then made tangible. Teams created simple prototypes that allowed others to experience the concept in a concrete way. The goal was not perfection, but to make the idea visible, discussable, and testable.
6. Test: In the final step, participants presented their prototypes and gathered feedback. This was not about defending an idea, but about learning from users: what worked, what did not, what remained unclear, and what new ideas emerged through the conversation.

This is exactly where the HPI d-school works: at the intersection of human needs, technological possibility, and real-world implementation. Across both Academic Programs and Professional Development, all work starts with practical challenges brought in by partners and participants themselves.

With the mindset of Design Thinking, students and professionals repeatedly engage with healthcare-related questions – from user-centered sensor systems in rehabilitation to new ways of transferring medical knowledge into general practice. The goal is always the same: to develop innovations that are grounded in reality, shaped with people, and capable of making a meaningful difference.