Improving the patient-doctor relationship

Outset Situation & Challenge

docdok is a successful hybrid care platform from Switzerland. Its provider docdok.health wanted to scale this success model to new channels for different types of healthcare practitioners and admin staff within hospitals. In a first step, docdok was to be implemented at the Simmental-Thun-Saanenland Hospital (STS).

The goal for the hospital was to digitalize the patient journey and to introduce a channel for data capturing and communication between patients and health care professionals (HCPs) thus optimizing the workflows of each user group and increasing efficiency. Before developing the software for these new so called ”case streams”, docdok.health wanted to understand the use related risks that might arise from the extension of their platform.

Approach & Solution

Several workshops made sure that the patient journey, the pains & gains of all stakeholders and the user requirements were well understood. Zühlke conducted a usability expert review with the current solution to improve its user experience.
A usability risk analysis allowed to foresee critical parts of the software development – and made sure that the intended use was not leading to a “Software as a Medical Device” classification.

Then, Zühlke developed the software (for mobile and web) with its proven methods from developing compliant products.
Beyond that, Zühlke provided support in debugging after the end of the project.

Impact & Benefit

After only three months of development time, the docdok platform enhancement was successfully introduced at the STS.
The new case streams now allow for different communication channels depending on the profile of the user (medical vs. non-medical staff). This notably improved the follow-up of patients who need aftercare and makes the work of the HCPs significantly more efficient.

Overall, better patient outcomes and quality of care are expected while improving efficiency. Thanks to the project, docdok.health has successfully scaled their platform with a stable architecture and established trust with their customer. It contributed to opening up a new market with substantial revenue opportunities.