Design a Safer Discharge Experience
Frame an evidence-based need, create alternative concepts and define a low-cost behavioural test.
20 minutes
Scenario
Riverside Day Clinic wants to reduce avoidable calls and mistakes after minor procedures. A manager has proposed a mobile app, but the team has not yet agreed on the underlying patient problem.
- Your role
- Service-design facilitator
- Method
- Design Thinking
Evidence pack
Call volume
31% of patients call the clinic within 48 hours; the largest categories are medication timing and uncertainty about normal symptoms.
Observation
In 7 of 10 observed discharges, patients folded the instruction sheet before the nurse finished speaking.
Recall
Only 4 of 12 interviewed patients could identify which symptom required urgent contact.
Caregiver role
Five patients relied on a family member who was not present during discharge.
Staff workaround
Two nurses mark medication times by hand; others use the standard printed sheet.
Access
Three of the twelve patients had limited mobile data access; two requested large-print information.
Safety
Clinical instructions must be approved by the medical governance lead before a live pilot.
Constraints
- The team must not assume a mobile app is the answer.
- The first prototype cannot contain unapproved clinical advice.
- The concept must support patients who do not use a smartphone.
Case steps
Work through each prompt using the evidence pack. Answers and rubric weights stay protected in the interactive flow.
Separate the supplied material into observations, team interpretations and constraints. Identify one important unknown.
Write a point of view and a 'How might we' question that do not prescribe a channel.
Create three concepts with different mechanisms, including one non-digital option. Name the critical assumption behind each.
Choose one concept and define a low-cost prototype, realistic task, observations, safety control and decision rule.