A Model for Good Design
When Herman Miller Healthcare decided it was going to design the Compass system, a modular furnishings solution for the patient room, it went right to the source: the people who work in healthcare every day.
According to Doug Bazuin, senior researcher for Herman Miller Healthcare, the Compass design team interviewed more than 550 clinicians, administrators, facility managers, and healthcare architects and interior designers to determine what healthcare issues are most important to them. Four key concerns kept rising to the top:
1. Support changing technology
2. Improve nurse efficiency
3. Improve the family experience
4. Be healthcare appropriate
In this video, Bazuin discusses how this research was applied to the final product design.
Launched in June at NeoCon, the award-winning Compass system is ready to help healthcare professionals navigate change. That’s the benefit of going the source.
The small scale model looks like it would be a lot of fun to play around with!
I did notice that the one group of stakeholders not mentioned in the list of people consulted by HM in the design phase are actual patients. I guess it would be difficult to gather that type of information since everyone’s experience is different. Perhaps the nursing staff was able to put together a list of most common patient complaints regarding traditional room setups?
Daisy McCarty
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