5 Mandates for Developing Consumer Centric MedTech

By Jessica Pichs, Principal, Research & Product Strategist

In today’s technology-driven world, consumers are often overwhelmed by the volume of choice and information they’re exposed to. Consumers want technologies to simplify their everyday lives; not complicate them. Healthcare providers should keep this ideology in mind when competing for customer loyalty and market share as the design of a medical device is just as important as quality of patient care. This blog explores five best practices for addressing a consumer’s usability expectations for medical devices.

1) The technology should simplify. A product that is ready to go out of the box and with no instructions will simplify the life of a consumer. A user should be able to follow their intuition to use the device. It should be completely assembled so there is no additional work required to use the product.

2) The technology should accelerate. The technology should give a user untethered access and allow them to be more independent. It should give users the opportunity to participate in activities that weren’t accessible prior to using the medical device. By doing so, the consumer will become more confident and will feel more connected to their world. Additionally, it will benefit the user’s life by boosting productivity in their everyday activities. If a product can help a consumer multi-task, they will remain loyal to that product.

3) The technology should customize. By customizing a design to fit into a consumer’s way of life, the user will feel empowered and more connected to the product. The technology will help the user feel more motivated and more confident. The more efficiently a user can spend their valuable attention, time and money, the happier they are with their purchase.

4) The technology should amplify. If a technology has the ability to benchmark and predict behaviors, a consumer will be proactively motivated. Additionally, if the product can interpret data collected into digestible insight, it will benefit the user to track any changes as well as goals for themselves.

5) The technology should connect. By having the ability to make social connections in a world that is heavily driven by technology, users will receive more encouragement from their peers. As a result, they will feel as though they have more support in a situation where they otherwise might not have any.