Designing an AI Assistant for Student Telehealth: A Case Study Using Human-Centered Design

Abstract

The interactions of AI systems in human-autonomy teams are designed to support user understanding, confidence, and trust. This research puts these useful interactions in a broader context of how a healthcare team could work to best meet the goals of the human user. The use of technology including AI and automation solutions to deliver various virtual healthcare services has substantially increased over the past two years following the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper presents a case study on following a service design thinking methodology to investigate the potential impact of AI solutions on the patient-user experience targeted at university student patients using telehealth services. The service design thinking approach is focused on the whole user experience and quality of service. It incorporates temporal processes and considerations of the user’s needs throughout their healthcare journey. User needs and requirements were elicited using interviews with a subject matter expert from the healthcare domain and with graduate student users. The collected data were analyzed and used to create two personas and storyboard scenarios. Then, three patient journey maps were created. The first “As Is” journey map demonstrates the patients’ pain points. Then, two alternative journey maps were developed to illustrate solutions using AI assistance, providing a holistic view of the patient experience during the telehealth journey. Low-fidelity prototypes and wireframes were produced in the prototyping phase. The added value of the journey map is that it shows where in the patient journey the AI assistant should best be integrated to reduce the risk and increase patient benefits. Moreover, the project identifies five main stages of the telehealth journey and offers key design improvements at each stage. For example, the process improvements point out how using an AI assistant can reduce time and effort by guiding the patient through the decision-making process to navigate the care options. Similarly, the AI assists the healthcare provider by gathering and integrating the patients’ required health information to accelerate the care process.