I recently had a break/vacation, which I hadn’t had in quite a while. I went to Portugal, specifically to my hometown near Lisbon to visit my family. While there I experienced some health issues, for which I was able to seek help and assistance, but which surfaced some gaps (and opportunities) in terms of what healthcare solutions can effectively provide, in order to accelerate the care people need. It also further reinforced some of the considerations I wrote about in the past when it comes to building effective Global product solutions. Here are some reflections to further cement the content of that earlier article, based on work that I’ve since developed.

Universal & Inclusive — While each and every country has very distinctive health systems and data record management policies, alongside privacy requirements and so on, it’s nonetheless surprising that an individual does not have a universal profile which indicates/informs physicians of the status of that same person/patient. While I know that this opens a very heated discussion around data warehousing, security and sharing of personal data, the opportunity to have a global patient network where one can document their medical history, is quite interesting and filled with opportunity. At its core, this could be a solution which would enable users to document their medical journeys, with possible connections to local data records if the user chose to do so, but it should be a fairly straightforward way for any patient to share data with any physician independently of where they are. This could be a freemium platform for users, with an option for a premium layer, should the user want to integrate further data records from specific countries where they could potentially have data stored at. This would however and essentially be like having a Medical Passport which would allow for people to have quicker access to the care they need (with information including biometrics, current medication, allergies, prior surgeries, amongst other pertinent points of information). There are many applications currently attempting to do this, including ones that are associated with the Apple Watch for instance, but a universal data record which surpasses borders is somewhat still an untapped problem, due to the many complexities surrounding healthcare and their providers in different countries. But again, the idea of a Linkedin for Healthcare would be an enticing proposition, one that could help all individuals as we navigate a more worldwide community centric existence (and particularly more relevant in a post pandemic world).

The inherent challenges for building such a product are also directly tied to Design concerns surrounding Inclusivity and multi-cultural product adoption. Inclusive design means crafting a solution which is sustained by a diversity of ways in which users can participate, so that they all have a sense of belonging. The Nielsen Norman Group has written more about inclusive design here. This once more reiterates the need for Designers and their peers in the Product Design journey, to truly embark in crafting solutions that are universally understood and not just anglo-centric. As I mentioned in my article on the topic of Global Product Solutions and Localization, it’s fundamental that solutions are edified considering the specificity of users indeed, but also across the different cultures and societies in which they function. In the past when working on universally shipped product solutions, it was important for me to keep in mind a variety of different factors, including:

1. Understand the context in which the potential product/solution is being consumed, across different markets and environments.
2. Research the cultural specificity of the countries in which the solution is going to be consumed (and this doesn’t have to be a months long affair, it can be a summarized exercise which sheds light on habits, demographics, economics, languages, amongst other factors, which further clarify the DNA of a particular region/country).
3. Apply qualitative and quantitative research methods, namely user interviews, surveys, questionnaires, moderated and unmoderated usability testing endeavors, among others, in order to gain knowledge of behaviors, expectations, trends, patterns and constructively inform the shaping aspect of the solution that is being crafted (and empower the iterative cycles which occur).
4. Focus on specific aspects such as accessibility and localization, creating content that can be parsed by multiple and diverse audiences and that resonates with different cultures (and once more, be sure to research the applicability and resonance of this aspect with audiences).
5. When performing benchmarking/competitive analysis studies, always make sure that the patterns that are documented and analysis that is performed are both sustained by data, and not by impressions/perspectives of who is capturing the information itself. Designers and their peers in the Product Design journey can easily fall prey to biases, independently of their good intentions, since their perspective is informed by their backgrounds and culture. While one can easily assume that for instance a smart phone is used in a similar fashion across the world, people in different cultures gravitate towards very specific applications, since they have specific habits that are just inherent to a particular country.

Universal and multi-cultural products are both a potential mine for success and also one of the biggest challenges a team can face from a Product Design perspective. Crafting these solutions demands a rigorous process sustained by the combination of the previously referred factors, with a heavy dose of pragmatism particularly when it comes to understanding what can be effectively delivered (and this has ties with building MVPs that are a stepping stone towards something better) and the realization that products can and should evolve in parallel with their users journeys.

As Herbert Mayer stated:

“It would seem unlikely that a manufacturer of short-lived paperboard boxes could make the slightest cultural impact upon his time. But the facts show that if even the humblest product is designed, manufactured, and distributed with a sense of human values and with a taste for quality, the world will recognize the presence of a creative force.”