Welcome to “Wellness by Design”
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Theresa Neil, Founder of Guidea, a small but mighty UX design consultancy specializing in healthcare.??
At Guidea, our core belief is that healthcare, in all its facets, should be not only efficient and effective, but also compassionate, accessible, and transformative. Our mission? To leverage our deep expertise in UX research, strategy, and design to make this vision a reality for every individual, regardless of their background or circumstance.
In this inaugural issue of Wellness by Design, Guidea’s monthly LinkedIn newsletter, I want to share my insights into the challenges and opportunities inherent in the current healthcare landscape, and invite you to join the Guidea community and take part in a shared commitment to wellness for everyone through the power of design.
The current healthcare landscape
Over the past 18 years, my team and I have designed dozens of healthcare products and services. In the course of this work, we have spent countless hours with hundreds of people throughout the healthcare ecosystem, from patients to healthcare providers to administrators and technologists.
What we have found is that the deepest issues with our healthcare systems aren't only operational; they are also profoundly human. From patients and healthcare providers alike grappling with highly fragmented and dehumanizing care experiences, to the alarming lack of attention to women's health in technology, all too often participants throughout the system end up feeling unheard, unseen, and uncared for. Very real conditions are often normalized or dismissed, especially in women’s health, diminishing quality of life, and leading to profound socio-economic repercussions. What we’ve learned is that the problems in healthcare aren't just about the effective and efficient delivery of services, but also about foundational issues of human dignity and well-being.
The transformative power of healthcare technology
These challenges are daunting, but they also present very real opportunities to redesign, reimagine, and recreate a healthcare system that puts the human experience at its heart, leveraging technology as more than just a tool, but as a force for positive change.
Opportunities for Digital Health
In an era where technology touches every aspect of our lives, healthcare should be no exception. Digital health promises a future where consultations, diagnostics, and patient management are not bound by constraints of geography or time. Imagine a world where patients in remote areas have access to world-class consultation via telehealth platforms, or where health monitoring becomes a seamless part of our daily lives, empowering patients with real-time data and insights. The surge in wearable tech, health apps, and integrated platforms is just the tip of the iceberg. There's a vast frontier where AI, machine learning, and personalized patient data can lead to proactive healthcare and improved wellness for all.
Opportunities for MedTech
At Guidea, we see tremendous potential for emerging medical device technologies (“MedTech”) to transform healthcare experiences and outcomes. There are many promising innovations across a wide range of medical device categories. Wearable biosensors now allow for continuous, real-time patient monitoring and can predict adverse events before they occur. Advances in AI-enabled diagnostic imaging tools create new possibilities for early disease detection and precision medicine. Augmented reality heads-up displays can overlay critical patient data during procedures or provide just-in-time training for clinicians. Robotics and automation can assist in surgeries and other interventions, improving accuracy and consistency. Implantable devices with biometric sensors and wireless connectivity create new paradigms for chronic disease management and remote patient monitoring after discharge. By taking a human-centered design approach and focusing on seamless experiences, these medical devices can connect the dots for more empowering patient journeys. We also see opportunities to improve clinician workflows and increase access to quality care through purposeful medical device design.
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Opportunities for Biopharma
Biopharma refers to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries that develop medical drugs and therapies using biological processes and organisms. Biopharma stands at the frontier of medical innovation, offering the promise of targeted and highly effective treatments. BioPharma’s commitment to personalized medicine, grounded in understanding individual genetic makeup, means that future treatments can be tailored to individual needs. The exploration into gene therapies, biologics, and advanced drug delivery systems are on the cusp of revolutionizing how we treat, manage, and even prevent diseases.
Opportunities for FemTech
In an evolving technological landscape, few areas of healthcare promise as great an impact as FemTech. Derived from "Female Technology," this term encompasses a burgeoning market focused on women's health and well-being. This isn't merely about catering to half the world's population; it's about addressing long-standing healthcare disparities, many of which have been historically sidelined.
At Guidea, we are incredibly excited by the untapped potential of FemTech. From our inception, one of our cornerstone missions has been to uplift women by harnessing the power of technology tailored to their unique needs. It's staggering to consider that countless women have faced health conditions — endometriosis, PCOS, fibroids, and many others — without the full support of modern medicine. And even when solutions were available, they often lacked nuance or true understanding of a woman's lived experience.
FemTech's potential isn't just about the future of women's health; it's about the future of health, period. Because when women thrive, the ripple effects are profound, reshaping families, communities, and societies at large. Guidea is proud to be at the forefront of this revolution, channeling our expertise in UX research, strategy, and design to design products and services that truly transform women’s health and wellbeing.?
Join Us?
Guidea is more than just a design firm. My team and I see ourselves as a catalyst for change, driven by the belief that with the right commitment to smart and compassionate design, technology can indeed humanize healthcare. We invite you to join us on this journey. Whether you're a product leader, entrepreneur, technologist, healthcare professional, investor, patient, or simply someone who believes in a better healthcare future, there's a place for you in the Guidea community. Let's collaborate, innovate, and together bring about healthcare transformation that's rooted in both efficiency and effectiveness and compassion and care.
We warmly invite you to subscribe to our new LinkedIn Newsletter, Wellness by Design, and become part of the Guidea community today.
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About Theresa
Theresa Neil is founder of the award-winning women-led UX design consultancy Guidea, where she specializes in strategic product design for Digital Health. Named a? “Top Designer in Technology,”? by Business Insider, Theresa works with notable clients including Humana, Cigna, Johnson & Johnson and global health companies. Her commitment to making an impact extends to collaborations with Johns Hopkins, Oxford, and Yale School of Medicine. Her Femovate UX sponsorship?program is providing over $1M in services to dozens of early stage FemTech founders, earning recognition from Women of Wearables and the WomenTech Network.?