By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    bowl of vegetable salad
    Raw Foods: benefits and harms
    November 9, 2021
    pros and cons of the keto diet
    Read This Before You Follow the Keto Diet
    May 18, 2022
    spinal cord injuries
    4 Potential Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries (and How to Seek Compensation)
    May 25, 2022
    Latest News
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    TBI: Some Surprising Statistics
    February 9, 2016
    Your Keys to Safer, Even More Secure Healthcare Cloud Services
    January 13, 2015
    4 Career Options in Healthcare Industry that Combine Big Data & Healthcare
    February 5, 2021
    Latest News
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Empathy, Humanity and Design at GE Healthcare
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Hospital Administration > Empathy, Humanity and Design at GE Healthcare
BusinessHospital AdministrationMedical DevicesTechnology

Empathy, Humanity and Design at GE Healthcare

Deanna Pogorelc
Deanna Pogorelc
Share
3 Min Read
healthcare delivery GE healthcare
SHARE

Originally published on MedCityNews.com.

healthcare delivery GE healthcareA medical procedure can be the most emotional, frightening thing to go through. Yet, healthcare is so technical and process-driven that the emotions around it so often go overlooked.

Originally published on MedCityNews.com.

healthcare delivery GE healthcareA medical procedure can be the most emotional, frightening thing to go through. Yet, healthcare is so technical and process-driven that the emotions around it so often go overlooked.

More Read

frightful competition
Why Retail Competition for Doctors Is Just Plain Scary
EHR System Optimization Strategies For Top-Notch Performance
10 Digital Health Mavens to Watch – And Why We Need You to Pick Yourself
Health Care Buzz Today
Myths About Continuing Care Retirement Communities

“We’re not just bones and flesh and organs,” said Bob Schwartz, the general manager of global design and user experience at GE Healthcare, at the Ohio State University’s Personalized Health Care Conference on Wednesday.

Schwartz oversees a team of 60 people charged with using design thinking to put some emotion into the company’s products, taking into account the user experience of not just the doctor but the patient as well. How, he posed, do we go about making healthcare less of an abrupt and startling diversion from ordinary life?

First, Schwartz said his team likes to observe how users behave, rather than asking them to describe how they behave. For example, a trauma team knows the process of delivering a patient to the emergency room like the back of their hand. But if asked to describe that process step-by-step, they’d likely leave out some of the things they don’t even realize they do, like fumble with tubes and wires. Those things, which Schwartz called “the zone of supposed paradox,” is often where the opportunity to innovate hides.

Once there’s a better understanding of the problems to be solved, it’s time to design. One of the questions Schwartz said his team considers is how to make a device feel like something a patient would see somewhere else. He showed a conceptual design of an MRI machine developed with inspiration from a pair of open, caring hands, to convey more of a feeling of comfort as the patient is rolled into the machine. Another conceptual image showed the inside of the device subtly decorated with patterns and shapes, to give patients something to look at once they’re inside the machine.

Finally, Schwartz recounted the importance of a diversified innovation and design team. “We never work by ourselves; we work in ensembles. Everybody is an owner,” he said. That includes bringing in groups from outside of the department sometimes, too. “In some projects we’ve done in recent years, the most IP has come from the HR people — go figure that.”

TAGGED:GE HEALTHCARE
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

engineer fitting prosthetic arm
How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
Health care
August 20, 2025
a woman explaining the document
How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
Public Health
August 20, 2025
physiotherapist at work
How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
Health care
August 20, 2025
Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs
7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
Health News
August 20, 2025

You Might also Like

BHM Healthcare Solutions | Independent Review Organization
BusinessGlobal HealthcarePublic Health

5 Signs That It Is Time to Reevaluate Your Independent Review Organization

August 14, 2015

Advances Coming in Medical Science That Will Have a High Impact

April 7, 2012
grandpad
Technology

GrandPad’s ‘Grandie’ Will Improve Healthcare Through Tech

February 5, 2024
How-to-Market-Your-Practice-to-MillennialsBIG
BusinesseHealthSocial Media

How to Market Your Practice to Millennials

April 19, 2016
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?