The Systemic Impact of Poor Patient-Centred Design
A medical device does not fail solely because it lacks regulatory approval - it fails when it ignores the reality that is human behaviour.
Time and time again, the industry has specialised in designing, manufacturing and shipping clinical-grade hardware that satisfies the safety and functional requirements but somehow always leaves another fundamental requirement – the one of human factor and comfort. With the NHS already spending over £8–10 billion per year on medical devices, with future plans set to exceed this, there is an undeniable and increasing pressure on Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to redefine what makes the end-user experience.
At the crux, a medical device will only be as effective as its wear-time. When physical discomfort interrupts compliance, data continuity will break down as a result. This is crucial as OEMs feed off these data streams to redesign and redevelop newer, more advanced models of their equipment. Losing this significantly results in wasted time and capital by misunderstanding the importance of human factor. Physiologically, how the end-user, the patient’s own internal hardware responds to the technology to assist in predicting unexpected challenges. To not have access to this information poses a serious line between life or death, especially in cases such as pacemakers and insulin pumps, where the end-user is wholly dependent. If the clinical data and feedback cannot be reviewed, designs modifications cannot be made, incurring more wasted costs. After all, OEMs cannot relay what they do not know?
To mitigate this, R&D and procurement teams must treat patient-centricity as a core engineering specification, just as important as the technical. This requires dedicated market research to map out both the physiological and social constraints of each target demographic, ensuring the technology will have a more seamless integration in the patient’s life. Manufacturers must play an active role in prioritizing electronics miniaturisation and more advanced biocompatible materials for full patient adherence to truly be achievable. Not just for now, but for the future to come, designing for the holistic patient must no longer remain an idealistic goal. It is a fundamental need for successful and ethical practice.
Article written by Pavanpreet Gohani - Biomedical Editor
