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Summary
Have you thought about applying your research and design expertise to a specific vertical? Healthcare offers rich, complex challenges and thorny psychology problems, in the midst of a highly regulated industry that desperately needs design experts. Wearables, IoT, AI/ML/LLM, AR, VR, robot nurses, healthcare is anything but boring. Theresa Neil will share a birds-eye view of the healthtech, medtech, femtech ecosystem and where she sees opportunities for practitioners like us. You can start in the shallow end with health & wellness apps and eventually swim with the sharks building regulated medical devices (with lasers)!
Key Insights
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UX design as a generalist service is increasingly commoditized, making specialization crucial for sustainable business.
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Theresa’s agency Gaia pivoted to focus on healthcare design two years ago, leveraging existing healthcare client experience.
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Healthcare technology is a rapidly growing market with a projected $1.6 trillion value by 2033 and a 20% CAGR.
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Designing for healthcare involves unique challenges including working within a highly regulated ecosystem (HIPAA, FDA).
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Healthcare offers fascinating interdisciplinary work involving technology, behavioral psychology, research, and service design.
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Specializing in healthcare UX requires mastering domain jargon, understanding the healthcare ecosystem, and partnering with clinicians.
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There are graduated entry points into healthcare UX, from low-complexity consumer health apps to high-complexity regulated medical devices.
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Bluffing expertise in regulated healthcare design is obvious and harmful; authentic learning and humility are essential.
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Innovations like AI, IoT, digital therapeutics, and smart drug delivery are at the forefront of healthcare design opportunities.
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Healthcare design is not altruistic; businesses prioritize profitability, so UX must align with business realities to succeed.
Notable Quotes
"We were basically generalists doing everything until a fellow agency owner asked why we weren’t specializing."
"We could become healthcare experts because we actually had a portfolio of healthcare companies already."
"Experts develop insights by isolating patterns and data—UX professionals do this every day already."
"Healthcare technology will reach 1,600 billion dollars in market value by 2033 with a 20% growth rate."
"Normally you don’t solve why men won’t seek preventative care with a prettier button or better UI."
"Healthcare is the most capitalist industry you can think of; it’s about increasing profitability first."
"These egregious EMR screens remind me of FinTech 15 years ago—ripe for design innovation."
"You can’t bluff your way into regulated medical device design; everyone will know if you don’t have the expertise."
"Designers are paired with clinicians—they are the domain experts, we are the software experts."
"If you get stuck, you’re of course welcome to reach out, and follow us on LinkedIn for ongoing healthcare design insights."
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