Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Designing for Wellness: Specializing in Healthcare
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
-
•
Theresa Neil shifted her consultancy idea from a broad UX practice to specializing in healthcare over the past two years.
-
•
Healthcare technology is growing rapidly with a projected $1.6 trillion market value by 2033 and 20% CAGR.
-
•
Vertical specialization, even by 'faking it till you make it', is a viable strategy but Theresa preferred leveraging her existing healthcare portfolio.
-
•
Healthcare UX challenges are complex, involving multiple stakeholders like patients, providers, payers, and regulators.
-
•
The healthcare ecosystem’s complexity allows specialized UX designers to charge premium rates.
-
•
There are distinct tiers of healthcare products from unregulated wellness apps to highly regulated medical devices requiring knowledge of HIPAA and FDA compliance.
-
•
Hands-on experience with regulated healthcare software and devices is critical; bluffing expertise is easily detected and harmful.
-
•
Designers in healthcare commonly collaborate closely with clinical subject matter experts rather than needing clinical degrees themselves.
-
•
Healthcare technology includes cutting-edge fields such as AI, connected devices, VR, AR, robotics, and innovative drug delivery systems.
-
•
Starting in lower complexity healthcare domains like consumer health websites or wellness apps eases entry before moving into stringent regulated areas.
Notable Quotes
"We were doing all the things until we got the advice to specialize; that moment changed everything."
"We could become healthcare experts because we actually did have a portfolio in healthcare already."
"Experts develop insights by isolating patterns and data; as designers, we already do this daily."
"Healthcare technology is absolutely a growing market with tremendous opportunity."
"Preventative care UX challenges, like why men won’t come in, are deeply rooted and not solved by prettier buttons."
"You aren't going to understand the healthcare ecosystem right off the bat; it’s incredibly complex."
"EMRs and EHRs have terrible user experience and are ripe for design innovation, similar to FinTech years ago."
"Don’t bluff regulated healthcare UX experience; everyone will know, and it’s harmful to your team and clients."
"Designers almost always partner with clinicians who are the domain experts in healthcare projects."
"You don’t need an MD or PhD to be effective in healthcare UX; humility, curiosity, and preparation are essential."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Employees can take as much or as little time off as they want, so long as their job gets done."
Lavy Kumar Kat Temple Shan Sebastian Tara Jensen Jenn ChouFuture of Work
June 9, 2021
"Our user base is really fun and complex, with different preferences that require nuanced automation approaches."
Andreas Huebner Amy Takata Craig BrookesWhat Is It Like To Be Part of The UX Team at Compass?
March 11, 2021
"Startups struggle daily with pricing, and conjoint analysis is the single most underrated tool to find optimal prices."
Ricardo MartinsUnlocking the power of advanced quantitative methods
March 12, 2025
"Everybody involved in product making should have empathy for each other, not just for the customer."
Monty HammontreeThe Future of UX Research
December 3, 2020
"Losing design ops led to missed deadlines, bad experiences for customers, and overstretched design leaders."
Benjamin RealShowing the Value of DesignOps by Not Having a DesignOps Team
October 21, 2020
"Every operation is going to have whirlwinds and fires all the time; strategy doesn't end that."
Kate TowseyAsk Me Anything (AMA) with Kate Towsey
April 2, 2025
"The weakest insight method might win simply because of the relationship to the power structure."
Steve Portigal Chris Chapo Kelly Goto Christian RohrerDiscussion
May 13, 2015
"Accessible foundations are built by involving voices of people with disabilities from ideation to prototyping to launch."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
March 28, 2023
"Users with physical challenges often can see and interpret prototypes but may need help clicking through them because assistive tech may not support the prototype system."
Sam ProulxPrototype Reviews, People With Disabilities, and You
October 1, 2021
