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Service design, product design, Dutch healthcare system
Qualitative interviews, customer journey map, thematic analysis, concept development
The Eindhoven Corporation of Primary Health Care Centers (SGE) recognizes a lack of trust among internationals or expats in Eindhoven towards the traditional Dutch healthcare system. This deprives them of potential clients, and also results in lower-than-desirable reviews and return rates. To address this, our team of four industrial designers created an experience room for expats and Dutch immigrants. This local or mobile space provides information about the Dutch healthcare system, regulations, providers, insurance companies, and differences with other healthcare systems. The information is conveyed through interactive installations within the room.
An investigation by SGE found a lack of trust among expats and new Dutch immigrants towards the Dutch healthcare system,
resulting in lower return rates and visits to doctors. Expats reported a lack of information and clear feedback before
their first visit to their practitioner, leading to confusion about the differences between the Dutch system and their
own.
There is currently no proper introduction in place for new patients, with many necessary steps often not taken
until they arrive in the Netherlands.
Five interviews were conducted with exchange students and expats. The aim of my research was to gain an understanding of the following aspects:
The objective was to thoroughly map out the complex journey of various users and their experiences with
the Dutch healthcare system. To accomplish this, I collected information from end users to comprehend
the difficulties they encounter and how they envision a solution that can effectively relieve the challenges
and improve their overall experience.
"I won't get the same medicine as I have back home from my general practitioner, therefore I sometimes bring my own from China and try to make it last, as long as I can"
"When you do not know where to go it is common that you ask other students. I have been here longer, so a lot of chinese students ask me for help."
"There is definitely a lack of guidance, I have to figure out a lot of things myself. Also when making an appointment, I had to call multiple times, which can be annoying."
After conducting user interviews, contextual inquiry and analyzing the gathered data, I was able to
translate the insights into the following categories.
From the interviews a user journey map was created that encompasses the first consultation with a general practitioner. From this
map it becomes clear that many problems can be solved if there was an introduction process in place before their first
consultation, but after their arrival in the Netherlands.
By working together with the institutions that employ or serve expats and new
Dutch immigrants, we provide a proper introduction to Dutch healthcare. This
is done through the use of an experience room. What we mean by that is the
use of a local or mobile space specifically geared towards informing people on
the way that healthcare is set up in the Netherlands.
The information covered in this particular space are:
A visit to this space can take anywhere between 5 and 30 minutes, allowing
customers to forward any information they find interesting to themselves
before they leave.
Most large institutions that serve or employ a large number of expats have
introductory periods in which they help these newcomers get everything on
track. As an organization, this is where we look to partner up with these
institutions. As part of their introductory time, internationals can be left to
explore the experience room, of which a mobile version could even be
brought to the location of the respective institution. Alternatively, their
employer (or other figure of authority) could allow them a certain time to visit
the room off work-site. Information within the room could even be tailored
specifically to the institution that the international visiting is associated with.
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The first installation within the experience room is a telephone stand with a screen. The screen displays several introductions and professional identities from available general practitioners at SGE with their working location. This profile page includes a photo, a personal introduction which is voiced by the respective doctor and an option to save your choice. The voiced introduction can be listened to through the telephone. This interaction should mimic a telephone conversation with the general practitioner. Choosing your own doctor gives a feeling of autonomy and visitors leave the installation with a feeling of who fits them best.
In the middle of the room there is an interactive touchscreen table that displays avatars from previous visitors and expats who have been living in the Netherlands for a few years. When clicking on one of these avatars a short description of the person will be given and a video will be shown in which the person will share his or her personal experience with SGE. To give a little bit more perspective to the visitors about the Dutch healtcare system, the internationals in the video's share some differences and similarities with the healthcare system in their origin country and the Dutch healtcare system.
Lastly, an interactive map of Eindhoven will be displayed on several touchscreens. On these maps all SGE locations and pharmacies are mapped. When clicking on one of the locations a brief summary of the pharmacy is given. After using the installation, visitors will know where to get their medicine and how pharmacies in the Netherlands work. The adress of choosen pharmacies will be forwarded to you and printed on your personal phamflet.
To get a better understanding of the problem a thorough target group analysis was conducted. For this analysis we held semi-structured interviews with expats, international students and SGE representatives. We created a customer journey map that shows the pains and problems of expats and internationals who just arrived in the Netherlands who need to find a new general practitioner. It was found that there is currently no proper introduction in place that takes expats through the steps from them first arriving to their first doctor’s appointment. To solve this problem we created a concept of an interactive experience room that introduces the Dutch healthcare system to internationals and expats. Expats will be better prepared and will have knowledge on the Dutch healthcare system through the various installations. To make the experience more personal, visitors will get a phamlet with personalized information.
Interested in this project and want to know more about it? Send me an email :)!