Reimagining Health Care Through Human-Centered Design 

Traditional problem-solving often relies on linear, assumption-driven models—identify the issue, prescribe a fix, and move on. But in an era when health care systems are strained by rising complexity and workforce burnout, a powerful shift is underway that moves away from rigid, top-down problem-solving toward a more empathetic, iterative, and inclusive approach: human-centered design (HCD). 

One practitioner at the forefront of this change is Hiyam Nadel, MBA, RN, CCG director of the Center for Innovations in Care Delivery at Massachusetts General Hospital and course director for Design Theory for Health Care Solutions, who champions a model of innovation rooted not in assumption, but in active listening and co-creation. As she explains, “You think you know what the problem is, but you’re not actually solving the right thing.” In contrast, human-centered design begins not with the problem, but with the people. What do they feel, say, and need? What do they value? And critically, what obstacles stand in their way? 

This mindset shift can be revelatory. In one powerful example, Nadel recalls a high-risk patient mistakenly labeled “noncompliant” after missing several critical appointments. A traditional approach may have penalized the patient. However, through the HCD principles of listening first and diagnosing second, she uncovered the real issue: the patient was the sole breadwinner and risked losing her job by attending frequent appointments. By adjusting scheduling to accommodate her work hours, Nadel and her team turned a barrier into a breakthrough.  

According to Nadel, “the magic happens because of HCD.” That magic stems from deliberately involving a diversity of perspectives—patients, providers, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, IT teams, and hospital leadership alike. These collaborative design sessions go beyond brainstorming. They are grounded in tangible, real-time feedback.  

As Rachael Acker, chief design strategist and founder of Healthero, notes, “prototyping concept designs and rough interfaces with real users in participatory sessions exposes the hidden behaviors and cognitive biases that drive engagement—like which sketches they ignore, which feel familiar, what they riff on, and why.”  

Acker emphasizes the value of live user feedback: “Those insights let you refine depth of engagement and boost adoption before you pour time into features nobody really wants. It’s far cheaper to tweak a paper sketch than rewrite your entire codebase.” 

The inclusive design ethos at Massachusetts General Hospital has led to several patented innovations. Kimberly Whalen, RN, MSN, CCRN, nurse director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), emphasizes the significance of institutional support in bringing essential innovations to life. One example derived from the needs of the PICU staff is a device designed to protect staff during pediatric blood draws by reducing needle-stick injuries and contamination. Another innovation is a mobile interface that assists clinicians in safely mixing and administering time-sensitive critical care medications, which resulted from extensive collaboration between frontline staff and external engineers.  

“The ideas and innovations emerged from understanding the challenges faced by frontline clinicians, involving them throughout the process, and working collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team,” Whalen notes. These efforts demonstrate that when those closest to the problem are empowered to develop solutions, innovation thrives. 

For HCD to take root, culture must come first. “You need the right environment,” says Nadel. “If you have that, implementation becomes easier.” Still, she acknowledges that getting teams onboard can be challenging, especially when time is tight, and skepticism runs high. Her suggestion is to start small, build trust, and let the process do the convincing.  

Time and again, Nadel has watched teams resist the HCD process, only to have their assumptions upended. “At the end they say, ‘I can’t believe how much my solution changed.’” That transformation is the essence of design thinking: start by empathizing, iterate often, and redefine the problem as new insights emerge. 

Importantly, human-centered design doesn’t just lead to better products—it also creates more meaningful measures of success. For Acker, success often reveals itself not in data dashboards, but in human reactions: “It’s in those rare moments of wonder. It’s when a user pauses out of interest, taps a feature, then smiles as if they’ve discovered something that was always meant to be; or when a nurse mentions it to a colleague without being prompted.” In her view, effective HCD is about “finding the right balance between empathy and efficient utility,” and measuring signals of empowerment and mindset change alongside traditional metrics. 

For health care professionals considering HCD, both Nadel and Acker offer practical wisdom. Nadel advises: “Just try it.” Whether through hackathons, design sprints, or grassroots projects, there are increasing opportunities to experiment with HCD. Acker adds, “Start by asking ‘Why?’ twice as often as ‘How?’ Then create a team early—not as spectators but as co-creators.”  

She emphasizes the creative tension that arises when diverse voices, such as a nurse, a data analyst, and a patient advocate, come together to ideate and test. “That diversity of thought fuses into solutions no lone expert could imagine,” she says. “Then build something—anything—that feels unfinished and watch how people finish it. Observe quietly, then remove yourself from the story so you can see what truly matters. The real design emerges in the spaces you least expect. If you skip empathy, you skip insight.” 

Design thinking isn’t new, but its role in health care is only beginning to blossom. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 ranks creativity, empathy, listening, and design thinking among the top emerging skills needed by 2030. As Nadel sees it, these capabilities will be critical as the field confronts two major challenges: the aging population and clinician burnout. 

Massachusetts General Hospital is already applying design methods to rethink care for older adults, a demographic that had been dubbed the “gray tsunami,” explains Nadel. This initiative—dubbed “Super Aging”—seeks to reimagine care delivery for this growing group, from where care happens to how it’s accessed and experienced. 

Simultaneously, HCD offers a path to restore joy to the health care workforce. “It empowers the frontline,” Nadel emphasizes. “When people see their ideas come to life, when they’re part of the solution, it gives them back control and creates real impact—for patients and providers alike.” 

The methodology might feel foreign at first, but its results are impossible to ignore. And the more you practice, the more you begin to see hidden possibilities everywhere.