A Breath of Fresh Air for Health Care
via opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com
Kaiser Permanente has poured enormous effort into its Thrive campaign and backed it up with improved patient experience in their hospitals, medical offices and creating a phenomenal set of online tools for their members.
I love that they are cognizant of the links between good design, good experience and good health care. The aesthetic of our work environment plays a role in how we work. I would not trade good clinical care for a nice chair, but if given a choice between equal doctors most would lean toward the office with friendly people, a clean and comfortable environment.
Elegant design is not restricted to the large institutional players, just look to Jay Parkinson in Brooklyn and Aaron Blackledge in SF for shining examples.
I didn't pay that much attention to aesthetic when I was focusing on getting the underlying processes right, but once I had the foundation of good process in place I began to understand the benefits of elegant design. Now I wouldn't open or join a practice without careful attention to design.
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