Applying the lessons of design thinking: a unique programme of care for acutely unwell, community-dwelling COVID-19 patients

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic limited access to primary care and in-person assessments requiring healthcare providers to re-envision care delivery for acutely unwell outpatients. Design thinking methodology has the potential to support the robust evolution of a new clinical model.AimTo demonstrate how design thinking methodology can rapidly and rigorously create and evolve a safe, timely, equitable and patient-centred programme of care, and to share valuable lessons for effective implementation of design thinking solutions to address complex problems.MethodWe describe how design thinking methodology was employed to create a new clinical model of care. Using the example of a novel telemedicine programme to support acutely unwell, community-dwelling COVID-19-positive patients called the London Urgent COVID-19 Care Clinic (LUC3), we show how continuous quality outcomes (safety, timeliness, equity and patient-centredness), as well as patient experience survey responses, can drive iterative changes in programme delivery.ResultsThe inspiration phase identified four key needs for this patient population: monitoring COVID-19 signs and symptoms; self-managing COVID-19 symptoms; managing other comorbidities in the setting of COVID-19; and escalating care as needed. Guided by these needs, a cross-disciplinary stakeholder group was engaged in the ideation and implementation phases to create a unique and comprehensive telemedicine programme (LUC3). During the implementation phase, LUC3 assessed 2202 community-based patients diagnosed with acute COVID-19; the collected quality outcomes and end-user feedback led to evolution of programme delivery.ConclusionDesign thinking methodology provided an essential framework and valuable lessons for the development of a safe, equitable, timely and patient-centred telemedicine care programme. The lessons learnt here—the importance of inclusive collaboration, using empathy to guide equity-focused interventions, leveraging continuous metrics to drive iteration and aiming for good-if-not-perfect plans—can serve as a road map for using design thinking for targeted healthcare problems.