Why user-centric digitalization in clinics can finally work: A practical example from Patient Education

Digitalization in the healthcare sector has a central problem: many solutions are being developed without taking doctors’ needs into account. Despite technological progress in almost all areas of life, a visit to hospital feels like a trip back in time for many patients. While operating theaters meet the latest technical standards, stacks of paper, landline telephones and fax machines dominate the wards. According to a recent survey, one in five doctors still uses fax as a means of communication and for two thirds the telephone remains the preferred tool for consultation.

This discrepancy shows that although digital offerings exist, they often fail to meet the real challenges of everyday clinical practice. The reasons rarely lie in a lack of technology, but rather in a lack of user centricity, confusing interfaces and solutions that do not fit in with workflows. As a result, the administrative burden is constantly increasing. In 2013, only 8 percent of hospital doctors spent more than four hours a day on bureaucratic tasks; by 2019, this figure had risen to 35 percent. Despite modern software solutions, the burden has not decreased as basic design principles have often been ignored.

Patient Education prior to surgical procedures is a particularly critical example. It has been carried out almost unchanged for over 60 years, although the scope and complexity of medical information is constantly increasing. Although the legal framework – in particular Section 630e of the German Civil Code (BGB) – defines the obligation to provide information, it does not specify how modern, up-to-date information must be provided. In practice, this means that patients still receive paper-based sheets full of technical terms. At the same time, there is clear scientific evidence that audiovisual and visual information increases understanding, improves compliance and even has a positive impact on post-operative outcomes.

Nevertheless, many available digital education services are hardly used because they are complicated, confusing or not intuitive. This is precisely where medudoc comes in. Together with clinics and medical specialists, the company has developed a platform with which individualized educational videos can be created that are tailored to the respective indication and the individual needs of the patient. This personalized form of information is already being used successfully in German and Swiss clinics.

Success factors for user-centric digitalization in everyday clinical practice

Success factor 1: Digital solutions must be developed together with doctors and independent clinics
The idea of video-based Patient Education arose directly from everyday clinical practice in neurosurgery. There, complex procedures have to be explained repeatedly every day, often in long monologues. The medudoc team identified the need directly with the users. The solution was then developed and tested together with a network of specialists. This early involvement means that the platform actually fits the real workflows and does not bypass them.

Success factor 2: Prototypes are for learning – and for discarding
Many clinicians are not familiar with iterative product development. They are used to evaluating finished systems. For digital innovation, however, it is crucial to test prototypes early and often. medudoc developed several versions of the user interface and tested them with different specialist groups. The result was a completely new platform that is much more focused on user requirements.

Success factor 3: Technology must be adaptable – not the clinical process
A “one-size-fits-all” approach does not work in the healthcare sector. Clinics have individual processes, different responsibilities and varying requirements. The medudoc platform architecture is therefore deliberately modular. It takes into account standards, guidelines and current research results, but at the same time allows flexible adaptation to individual needs. This results in a solution that does not have to be introduced by hook or by crook, but instead fits in intelligently.

Success factor 4: Digital solutions do not replace existing processes, they complement them
The added value of digital Patient Education does not lie in replacing analog materials, but in changing processes. Patients receive their individualized video at the optimal moment before the personal consultation with the doctor. As a result, they are better informed during the consultation, ask more specific questions and require fewer explanatory loops. Clinics report time savings of up to 50 percent in doctor-patient consultations and a noticeable reduction in the amount of documentation required.

medudoc already cooperates with clinics in the fields of anesthesia, general and neurosurgery, orthopedics, urology and ophthalmology. The company is continuously expanding its range of content and is looking for further partners who would like to drive forward the digitalization of Patient Education.

Practice clearly shows that user-centered development is not a “nice to have”, but the basis for digital solutions in the healthcare sector to be accepted, used and successful in the long term. This is precisely where the difference arises between software that fails in everyday clinical practice and solutions that really make life easier for doctors.