Innovating From Within: A Process Model for User-Centered Digital Development in Academic Medical Centers

Design thinking and human-centered design approaches have become increasingly common in health care literature, particularly in relation to health information technology (HIT), as a pathway toward the development of usable, diffusible tools and processes. There is a need in academic medical centers tasked with digital innovation for a comprehensive process model to guide development that incorporates current industry trends, including design thinking and lean and agile approaches to digital development.

This study aims to describe the foundations and phases of our model for user-centered HIT development.

Based on our experience, we established an integrated approach and rigorous process for HIT development that leverages design thinking and lean and agile strategies in a pragmatic way while preserving methodological integrity in support of academic research goals.

A four-phased pragmatic process model was developed for user-centered digital development in HIT.

The model for user-centered HIT development that we developed is the culmination of diverse innovation projects and represents a multiphased, high-fidelity process for making more creative, flexible, efficient, and effective tools. This model is a critical step in building a rigorous approach to HIT design that incorporates a multidisciplinary, pragmatic perspective combined with academic research practices and state-of-the-art approaches to digital product development to meet the unique needs of health care.