Vocera Wave

Three questions to the project team

What was the particular challenge of the project from a UX point of view?
The main UX challenge in the healthcare environment is ensuring feasibility and minimizing disruptions to existing workflows. Workflow changes are often met with resistance, lowering the rate of adoption. The goal for Vocera Wave is to be compatible with context and familiar to users, to enable seamless adoption. Identifying and leveraging existing infrastructure was the key to achieving this. Patient side interactions are accommodated using the screens fitted to the hospital beds, while healthcare professionals utilize smart watches they use daily. Further non disruptive alert, haptic feedback is suited to the sensitive hospital environment. These intentional design decisions were made with feasibility and adoptability in mind.

What was your personal highlight in the development process? Was there an aha!-moment, was there a low point?
Narrowing down the scope of what Vocera Wave should address was challenging yet satisfying. In the early stages I consulted a healthcare professional while juggling numerous ideas but no clear direction. Their advice became my guiding light - solving pain points within a single task flow which could ease pressure on multiple stakeholders, leading to a high value proposition in the highly intertwined healthcare sector. Further, touching base with healthcare professionals during development, led to aha moments. For example, one reason for repeated calls was nurses, juggling multiple tasks, forgetting to perform a comprehensive check before leaving. This inspired the introduction of nudges, ensuring patient needs are met in a single call.

Where do you see yourself and the project in the next five years?
In the next 5 years, I see Vocera Wave being integrated into hospitals seamlessly, owing to the use of existing infrastructure. On a larger scale, Vocera Wave’s impact would extend beyond hospital staff and patients, enhancing working conditions in hospitals and alleviating staffing shortages. Resource-saving features like the care nudges and smart task triaging minimize redundant tasks, saving time and energy. By addressing alert fatigue, it enables staff to complete tasks within work hours, reducing overtime and associated costs. With its' focus on efficiency, staff retention and patient satisfaction, Vocera Wave will foster better patient care and a stable healthcare system for society to benefit from.