Help clinicians focus on what matters
A dynamic scheduling tool set to enhance efficiency for embryologists and clinicians.
The brief
Fertility clinics like Care Fertility, one of the UK’s leading private providers of IVF treatment, operate in a highly specialised field where procedures are complex, time-sensitive, and have a fundamental impact on patients' lives.
Clinicians and embryologists navigate many tasks daily, from lab work to patient management, often relying on fragmented systems that include multiple software platforms and paper-based processes. The manual coordination of these tasks consumes significant mental energy and time, leaving little room for flexibility and creates operational friction for clinical staff.
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This process has pushed us outside of our comfort zone. The empathy mapping was interesting because it's provided insight into how other people in our teams feel about the pressures day in, day out.
Driving solutions through Design Thinking
Design Thinking, a human-centred research and design methodology, was identified as the ideal approach to tackle these challenges. It is particularly effective in healthcare settings because it emphasises deep empathy with end users—patients and clinicians alike—and encourages collaboration across multidisciplinary teams.
By focusing on understanding the real needs and pain points of users, we can uncover solutions that are both practical and rooted in the real-world challenges faced by Care Fertility staff in their daily work.
[Video title]
This process has pushed us outside of our comfort zone. The empathy mapping was interesting because it's provided insight into how other people in our teams feel about the pressures day in, day out.
Involving users to identify friction points
The project began with in-depth workshops involving embryologists from across Care Fertility's clinics. The team developed personas, to serve as a framework for understanding the daily challenges, motivations, and pain points of staff.
Using scenario mapping, the team dissected the current workflow, identifying friction points in the day-to-day operations. The exercise revealed that the manual and fragmented nature of the planning process was a significant source of stress and inefficiency, particularly in balancing clinical tasks with training and administrative duties.
[Video title]
This process has pushed us outside of our comfort zone. The empathy mapping was interesting because it's provided insight into how other people in our teams feel about the pressures day in, day out.
Designing, testing and iterating with users
With a clear understanding of the problem, the team moved into ideation. Through co-creation workshops, the team explored potential solutions, with staff being encouraged to think creatively and push the boundaries of traditional problem-solving.
The team then refined the best ideas into a prototype—a dynamic scheduling tool. This tool was designed to help embryologists manage their day more effectively, reducing the mental load by integrating various tasks into a single, user-friendly interface. The prototype was tested with real users at Care Fertility, providing valuable feedback that informed further refinements.
[Video title]
This process has pushed us outside of our comfort zone. The empathy mapping was interesting because it's provided insight into how other people in our teams feel about the pressures day in, day out.
How can you get started with Design Thinking?
The Care Fertility case study highlights the power of design thinking to transform complex, human and patient-centred operations. For businesses looking to leverage Design Thinking to overcome sticky challenges, there are a few areas to consider:
- Start with Empathy: Understanding the needs and pain points of your users is crucial. Involving them early in the process ensures that the solutions are relevant and effective.
- Define the Right Problem: Invest time in accurately identifying the problem before jumping to solutions. This will ensure that your efforts are directed toward addressing the most impactful issues.
- Encourage Broad Ideation: Don’t limit creativity during the ideation phase. Encouraging a wide range of ideas can lead to innovative solutions that might not emerge through traditional problem-solving methods.
- Test and Iterate: Prototyping and testing with real users is vital. It provides practical insights that can refine the solution.
- Design Thinking with Strategy: Design Thinking should complement and enhance your broader business strategy. When combined with rigorous analytical approaches, it can drive both innovative solutions and successful execution.
