Design is expanding its influence on shaping future healthcare. Ideally, designers apply human-centered design and human factors that introduce theory, principles, and methods to design to optimize people’s healthcare experiences in both digital and non-digital environments. To discuss and implement experience design in healthcare, consensus about experience design in healthcare is needed. Objectives: Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate designers’ views on experience design in health, and to uncover their understanding about three experience design concepts, i.e., user experience (UX), patient experience (PEx), and digital patient experience (dPEx). We conducted online semi-structured interviews study with convenience samples who met the eligibility. We used ATLAS.ti for an in-depth data coding following thematic analysis. 24 international designers of digital health solutions, either in industry or in academia took part in the interviews. We found the similarities and differences mentioned between healthcare design and non-healthcare design relate to (1) design principles, (2) user attributes, and (3) design contexts. Furthermore, the differences between UX, PEx, and dPEx can be mapped on five dimensions: people, contexts, purposes, means, and usage scenarios. These insights can help designers and human factors specialists build a common design language for experience design in healthcare. Our study can also assist designers and human factors specialists with experience design in digital health by pointing out the areas where design thinking generally is appropriate and the places where particular expertise in healthcare design is needed.

Background Digital health (DH) brings considerable benefits, but it comes with potential risks. Human Factors (HF) play a critical role in providing high-quality and acceptable DH solutions. Consultation with designers is crucial for reflecting on and improving current DH design practices. Objectives We investigated the general DH design processes, challenges, and corresponding strategies that can improve the digital patient experience (PEx). Methods A semi-structured interview study with 24 design professionals. All audio recordings were transcribed, deidentified, grammatically corrected, and imported into ATLAS.ti for data analysis. Three coders participated in data coding following the thematic analysis approach. Results We identified eight DH design stages and grouped them into four phases: preparation, problem-thinking, problem-solving, and implementation. The analysis presented twelve design challenges associated with contextual, practical, managerial, and commercial aspects that can hinder the design process. We identified eight common strategies used by respondents to tackle these challenges. Conclusions We propose a Digital Health Design (DHD) framework to improve the digital PEx. It provides an overview of design deliverables, activities, stakeholders, challenges, and corresponding strategies for each design stage.