User experience (UX) design has reshaped countless industries, making technology intuitive, accessible, and even enjoyable. From banking apps that simplify complex financial transactions to e-commerce sites that feel personalized and seamless, good UX has become the standard. Yet, one of the most critical sectors—healthcare—often lags. The digital tools used by patients, doctors, and hospital staff are frequently clunky, confusing, and frustrating to use. This isn’t just an inconvenience; it can have profound consequences for patient outcomes and provider burnout.

The gap in medical UX stems from a historical focus on functionality over usability. Systems were built to store vast amounts of data and meet stringent regulatory requirements, but the experience of the person using the software was often an afterthought. This has resulted in electronic health records (EHRs) that are difficult to navigate, patient portals that create more questions than they answer, and medical devices with interfaces that could lead to user error.

Closing this UX gap is no longer optional. As healthcare becomes more digitized and patient-centric, the need for well-designed, intuitive systems is paramount. Good UX in medicine can reduce medical errors, improve patient engagement, and alleviate the administrative burden on clinicians. By applying the principles of user-centred design, the healthcare industry can create digital experiences that support, rather than hinder, the delivery of excellent care. This post will explore what’s missing in medical design and outline the steps needed to bridge this critical gap.

The Importance of User-Centred Design in Healthcare

User-centred design (UCD) is a framework that places the end-user at the heart of the design process. It’s about deeply understanding the needs, limitations, and preferences of the people who will be interacting with a product or service. In healthcare, this means designing for a diverse set of users: patients managing chronic conditions, doctors making critical decisions under pressure, nurses coordinating care on busy wards, and administrative staff handling complex billing and scheduling.

When digital tools are designed with these users in mind, the benefits are substantial. For patients, a user-friendly app can make it easier to manage their health, from scheduling appointments and refilling prescriptions to accessing test results and communicating with their care team. This accessibility empowers patients to take a more active role in their health, which is linked to better outcomes.

For clinicians, intuitive software can streamline workflows, reduce the time spent on administrative tasks, and minimize the cognitive load associated with navigating complex interfaces. This not only improves efficiency but can also help combat the widespread issue of burnout among healthcare professionals. When technology works with clinicians instead of against them, they can focus more of their energy on what they do best: caring for patients.

A Model of Success: The Mayo Clinic App

A prime example of user-centred design done right in healthcare is the Mayo Clinic’s mobile app. It provides a single, intuitive platform where patients can manage nearly every aspect of their healthcare journey. The app allows users to access their medical records, view test results, message their doctors, and schedule appointments with just a few taps.

What makes the Mayo Clinic app so effective is its relentless focus on the patient experience. The interface is clean and simple, making it easy for users of all ages and tech-literacy levels to find what they need. Information is presented clearly and concisely, avoiding the medical jargon that can be confusing and intimidating for patients. By creating a tool that is both powerful and easy to use, the Mayo Clinic has significantly enhanced patient satisfaction and engagement while also streamlining processes for its healthcare providers. The app serves as a powerful testament to what’s possible when healthcare organisations prioritise UX.

Where Medical Design Is Falling Short

Despite a few shining examples, the broader landscape of medical UX is filled with challenges. The digital tools that many patients and providers use daily are often a source of frustration, inefficiency, and even risk. Understanding these specific shortcomings is the first step toward addressing them.

Cluttered and Confusing Interfaces

One of the most common complaints about medical software, particularly electronic health records (EHRs), is the cluttered and overwhelming nature of their interfaces. These systems are often designed to display a massive amount of information at once, with dense text, countless tabs, and a sea of buttons and menus. While the intention may be to provide comprehensive data, the result is often a high cognitive load for the user.

For a doctor trying to review a patient’s history during a consultation quickly, a poorly designed EHR can make it difficult to find the most relevant information. They may have to click through multiple screens to piece together a clinical picture, wasting valuable time and increasing the risk of overlooking a critical detail. This not only impacts the efficiency of care but also detracts from the doctor-patient interaction, as the clinician’s attention is diverted to navigating the software.

Lack of Interoperability

Another significant hurdle is the lack of interoperability between different healthcare systems. A patient’s medical data is often scattered across various platforms that don’t communicate with each other. The records from a primary care physician, a specialist, a hospital, and a pharmacy may all exist in separate, incompatible systems.

This fragmentation creates a disjointed experience for both patients and providers. Patients are often required to act as the messengers for their medical history, repeatedly filling out the same forms and trying to recall details of past treatments. For providers, the inability to access a complete and unified patient record can lead to redundant tests, delayed diagnoses, and potential medical errors. A truly user-centred healthcare system would allow for the seamless and secure flow of information, creating a single source of truth for a patient’s health journey.

Neglecting Accessibility

Healthcare is a universal need, yet many digital health tools fail to meet basic accessibility standards. This means that patients with disabilities—such as visual impairments, motor limitations, or cognitive differences—may be unable to use the very tools designed to help them manage their health.

Websites and patient portals may not be compatible with screen readers, mobile apps might rely on small, hard-to-tap buttons, and important health information could be presented in formats that are difficult for people with dyslexia to read. This lack of inclusivity effectively excludes a significant portion of the population from the benefits of digital health. Designing for accessibility isn’t just a matter of compliance; it’s a fundamental aspect of creating equitable and ethical healthcare experiences.

Ignoring the Emotional Context of Healthcare

Interacting with the healthcare system can be an emotionally charged experience. Patients are often dealing with uncertainty, anxiety, and vulnerability. A well-designed digital tool should acknowledge and accommodate this emotional context.

However, many medical interfaces feel cold, sterile, and impersonal. The language used can be overly clinical and difficult to understand, and the design may lack the empathy and reassurance that patients need. For example, receiving a notification with complex lab results without any context or guidance can be a deeply stressful experience. Good UX in healthcare involves more than just functionality; it requires designing with compassion and an understanding of the human side of medicine.

Charting a Path Forward: How to Bridge the Gap

Improving the state of medical UX is a complex challenge, but it is not an insurmountable one. By adopting a more user-centric mindset and investing in a collaborative design process, the healthcare industry can create digital tools that truly meet the needs of patients and providers.

1. Involve End-Users from the Start

The most fundamental principle of user-centred design is to involve the people you’re designing for throughout the entire process. Healthcare organizations and tech developers must actively seek input from patients, doctors, nurses, and other staff. This goes beyond simple surveys; it involves conducting in-depth interviews, observing users in their natural environment, and co-creating solutions through workshops and usability testing.

By bringing these diverse perspectives into the design process early and often, teams can gain a deep understanding of the real-world challenges and workflows they need to support. This collaborative approach ensures that the final product is not just technically sound but also genuinely useful and usable for the people on the front lines of care.

2. Prioritise Simplicity and Clarity

In a field as complex as medicine, simplicity is not a luxury—it’s a necessity. Designers of medical software should strive to create interfaces that are clean, intuitive, and focused. This means ruthlessly prioritizing information, using clear and plain language, and providing a logical and consistent navigation structure.

The goal should be to reduce cognitive load, not add to it. A well-designed EHR, for instance, would surface the most critical patient information contextually, rather than presenting everything at once. Visual cues, smart defaults, and guided workflows can all help to make complex tasks feel simpler and less error-prone.

3. Build for Interoperability

Breaking down the data silos that plague healthcare is a critical step toward a better user experience. This requires a commitment to open standards and APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that allow different systems to share information securely. When a patient’s health data can flow seamlessly between their primary care doctor, their specialists, and the local hospital, it creates a more coherent and coordinated care experience.

This shift requires collaboration not just within individual healthcare organizations but across the entire industry. Tech vendors, providers, and policymakers must work together to create a connected ecosystem where data follows the patient, empowering both individuals and their care teams with a complete picture of their health.

4. Champion a Culture of Continuous Improvement

UX is not a one-time project; it’s an ongoing commitment. The needs of users evolve, technology advances, and new challenges emerge. To keep pace, healthcare organizations must foster a culture that values continuous learning and iteration.

This means regularly gathering feedback from users, monitoring usage data to identify pain points, and being willing to refine and improve digital tools over time. By treating UX as a core business priority and empowering design teams to advocate for the user, organizations can ensure that their technology not only meets the needs of today but is also prepared for the challenges of tomorrow.

The Future of Healthcare is User-Centred

The gap between the potential of digital health technology and the current reality of its user experience is significant, but it represents an enormous opportunity. By embracing the principles of user-centred design, the healthcare industry can transform its digital tools from sources of frustration into powerful enablers of better health outcomes.

This transformation requires a shift in mindset—from viewing technology as a mere repository of data to seeing it as a critical part of the care experience. It demands collaboration, empathy, and a relentless focus on the human beings at the centre of the healthcare system. The journey to better medical UX will be a marathon, not a sprint, but it is one of the most important races the industry can run. For patients, providers, and the health of society as a whole, the stakes couldn’t be higher.