Panels

The Promise of User-Focused Design for Healthcare

To improve patient outcomes and workflows while decreasing costs, hospitals and integrated health care facilities have been moving towards providing an environment and services that are more patient-centered. In this panel we explore this trend and what exactly is meant by “User-Focused Design.” Why is a user-centered approach important in designing health care facilities and services? What evidence do we have that user-focused design works in these areas? What are the challenges and limitations of user-focused design solutions?

Moderator & Panelist Bios

	Moderator: Amy Beth Keller, MArch, EDAC is a Research Associate and Design Strategist for The Center for Health Design. Her professional work focuses on strengthening the Center for Health Design’s “Pebble Project” research initiative; collaborating on multiple research projects that link relevant environmental design interventions with ongoing performance improvement efforts of healthcare organizations; developing a repository framework for evidence-based design case studies, applicable research, and recommended design strategies in hospital settings; building a evidence-based design process to educate and assess individuals and projects on the understanding and implication of basing design decisions on credible evidence. Her research findings on healthcare environments can be found in several publications and venues including the National Association on Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions proceedings, the American College of Healthcare Executives Congress on Leadership conference proceedings, the Healthcare Design magazine, and the Health Environments Research & Design Journal. In addition to her practice experience, Ms. Keller has her Masters in Architecture from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

	Panelist: Peter Coughlan, MAEd, PhD is a Partner at IDEO, where he co-leads the Health and Wellness Practice and focuses on creating system change in the healthcare industry. In his 12 years with IDEO, Peter has contributed to programs ranging from medical device design to culture change initiatives for hospital leadership. Some of his clients and collaborators include Amgen, Beckman Coulter, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Cleveland Clinic, Invacare, Kaiser Permanente, Mayo Clinic, The American Organization of Nurse Executives, Mass General, Novartis, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Stanford Hospital and Clinics. Peter has a B.A in English Literature from Trinity College, a Master’s in Education from Boston University, and a Ph.D in Applied Linguistics from UCLA.

	Panelist: Zofia K. Rybkowski, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Construction Science and a Fellow of the Center for Health Systems and Design at Texas A&M University. Dr. Rybkowski researches the financial implications of Evidence-Based Design (EBD) interventions on a healthcare facility’s life cycle and investigates ways to overcome the hurdle of first cost sometimes associated with EBD, using Lean Construction processes. Dr. Rybkowski holds a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, in Civil Engineering, and advanced degrees from Harvard, Stanford, Brown and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in Civil Engineering, Architecture and Biology. She has worked as an architectural and engineering researcher, educator and designer for American, Japanese and Chinese universities and architecture design firms, and is a registered LEED AP.

	Panelist: Jennifer Lieberman, MBA, MPH is the director of Kaiser Permanente’s innovation facility that enables end users -- patients and clinicians -- to road test ideas in a safe, simulated environment. Patients and clinicians collaborate with experts at the Garfield Center to understand how space, technology and clinical process intersect to improve the care experience. Jennifer joined Kaiser Permanente in 2004 and led the cross functional team to conceptualize, fund and build the Garfield Center. She has fifteen years of working with groups to understand and implement change in the health care industry. Previously she was at Caremark (now CVS), where she spent time understanding how physicians in fee for service practices adopt e-prescribing tools. Jennifer has also held marketing and policy development roles at Blue Shield of California and the UCSF Center for the Health Professions. Jennifer completed the joint MBA/MPH program at UC Berkeley and holds an undergraduate degree in political science from Bryn Mawr College.