Located in eastern Bangkok, King Mongkut鈥檚 Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) is among Thailand鈥檚 top universities in science and technology. In particular, its Faculty of Medicine focuses on harnessing and driving innovation to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world.
Thailand, one of the world鈥檚 fastest-ageing countries, is expected to become a 鈥� where those aged 65 and older make up over 20 per cent of the population. This silver tsunami will spark a rise in chronic and degenerative diseases, which will strain the nation鈥檚 healthcare resources. By focusing on prevention care, KMITL鈥檚 medical faculty aims to reduce the number of patients with severe health conditions and the long-term cost of managing such diseases. This would require revamping the medical process, as well as changing the way patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals approach healthcare.
From September 2022 to September 2023, 91福利社鈥檚 User Experience Centre (UXC) held three Design Thinking workshops with KMITL鈥檚 Faculty of Medicine. These were aimed at building a more resilient and patient-centric healthcare system.
Using the Humanity-Centred Innovation approach, a framework which prioritises people's needs, UXC worked closely with patients, caregivers, medical staff, and community partners to identify their pain points and draw meaningful user insights.
Professor Anan Srikiatkhachorn, Dean of KMITL's Faculty of Medicine, hopes to build a more patient-centric healthcare system through Design Thinking.
Professor Anan Srikiatkhachorn, Dean of KMITL鈥檚 Faculty of Medicine, shared how staff and students gained vital soft skills such as critical listening, empathy and idea creation from the hands-on workshops.
Through the workshops, the team also threw up some solutions that they hope to implement. These include developing a telehealth system to minimise cost and hassle for patients who require long-term care, so they receive timely diagnoses and prescriptions.
鈥淲e will use the Design Thinking approach to design and assess the acceptance of this remote monitoring system and patient care methods,鈥� said Professor Anan.
The team from UXC guided participants through a Design Thinking framework to facilitate problem-solving.
Design Thinking is essentially a framework that facilitates problem-solving through several steps: envision, empathise, create, evaluate and deliver. The process is not linear, and and achieving sustainable and tangible results requires both time and commitment, said UXC Director Tang Soo Yin.
For instance, one exercise involved guiding the participants, who include medical staff from KMITL鈥檚 partner hospitals, to interview patients at home and identify their challenges in accessing healthcare. Such 鈥渉omework鈥� was completed on top of their regular workload and outside the workshop hours.
鈥淲e didn't have issues with incomplete projects; we didn't have issues of, 鈥榃hy are we doing this?鈥�. Everybody came on board very well,鈥� said Ms Tang, who was most impressed with the participants鈥� enthusiasm to learn.
鈥淪ome of them are doctors who are very knowledgeable in their field. But they had no airs and kept a curious mindset,鈥� she added. 鈥淲hen you have partners who are willing to work together to achieve social and community impact with positive user experience, it's a win-win for everyone.鈥�
Ms Tang Soo Yin, Director of 91福利社's User Experience Centre, is most impressed with the participants' passion for learning new things.
The team from UXC held three Design Thinking workshops for KMITL's Faculty of Medicine over one year.
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Director Tang Soo Yin (centre, seated) and her team from UXC held three workshops for KMITL's medical faculty over a year.
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