Enhancing User Experience: Applying Cognitive Biases and Principles in a Healthcare Product

In healthcare products, user experience (UX) plays a critical role in determining their success and impact. Prioritizing UX leads to better results, increased user engagement, and happier patients. However, ignoring or performing poorly on the UX can result in issues including inefficiency, low user engagement, and patient discontent. A user-friendly telemedicine platform, for instance, makes it simpler for patients to book appointments, view records, and connect with clinicians, improving experiences and health results. However, people may struggle to use medical equipment appropriately if it has a challenging user interface or confusing instructions, which could be harmful to their health.

What are Cognitive biases and principles in UX?

Cognitive biases and principles are how our minds naturally work when using a product or service. These biases and principles affect how we think, make decisions, and perceive things. For instance, we tend to prefer things that are familiar to us (mere exposure effect) and often seek information that confirms what we already believe (confirmation bias). When designing user experiences, it’s important to be aware of these biases and principles so that we can create designs that are user-friendly, intuitive, and serve users’ needs and preferences. By correctly understanding and applying these biases and principles, we can create products with better user experience.

We must design for the way people behave, not for how we would wish them to behave. ―Donald A. Norman, Living with Complexity

Applying Cognitive biases and principles in Healthcare products

When it comes to designing healthcare products, using Cognitive biases and principles can make a huge difference in how users interact with them and their user experiences. By understanding how our minds work and applying this knowledge to design, we can create products that are easy to use and help people make better decisions about their health.

Here are some common Cognitive biases and principles used in healthcare products:

1.Hick’s Law:
Have you ever noticed that it takes longer to make a decision when you have a lot of options to choose from? Well, that’s what Hick’s Law is all about. While designing healthcare products, this principle can be really useful. By keeping the number of choices to a minimum, especially when it comes to making important decisions, we as designers can make it easier for users to navigate and find what they need.

Example of Hick’s law with endless options while booking an appointment. Source: Giphy

For instance, when booking an appointment, a simplified process with fewer steps and options can make the experience smoother and less overwhelming for users.

2. Anchoring Bias:
Did you know that the first piece of information we come across can heavily influence our decision-making? It’s called anchoring bias. Healthcare products can use this bias to their advantage. They can strategically place important information right at the beginning to make a strong impact on users.

Initial information’s influence emphasizes the Anchoring Bias principle. Source: Giphy

For instance, When users are evaluating various healthcare plans, if the product prominently displays the main benefits and costs of a specific plan right away, it may influence their choice.

3. Framing effect:
Did you know that how information is presented can affect our decisions? It’s called the framing effect. Healthcare products can make use of this bias by being thoughtful about the language they use. By carefully choosing the words and tone in their content, they can impact users’ choices.

The Framing animation emphasizes the importance of framing effect in design. Source: Giphy

For instance, using positive and motivating language when talking about healthy lifestyle options or highlighting the potential advantages of a specific treatment can shape how users perceive those options and even inspire them to take action.

4. Loss aversion
Did you know that we often feel the fear of losing something more intensely than the joy of gaining something? It’s called loss aversion. In healthcare products, this bias can encourage users to prioritize their health. By highlighting the negative outcomes that can result from not taking preventive measures or seeking timely treatment, the products can create a sense of urgency.

Fear of losing is outweighed more than gain. Source: Giphy

For instance, by emphasizing the risks of not getting vaccinated or skipping regular check-ups, users may be motivated to take action and protect their well-being.

Salient points

• User experience (UX) is critical for their success and impact on healthcare products.
• To design interfaces that work well and are easy for people to use, it’s important to understand how the human brain tends to behave.
• By using cognitive biases and principles when designing healthcare products, we can make them more user-friendly and easy to understand. This, in turn, increases user satisfaction and keeps people engaged with the products.

Effective planning and design are crucial for Healthcare UX UI. This is precisely where the expertise of Neointeraction Design comes into play. Our team ensures the provision of top-notch UI/UX design services that seamlessly integrate throughout the entire product design process.