Leveraging Provocative Design Methods to Address Implicit Bias in Clinical Interactions through Technology

Implicit bias impacts the quality of patient-clinician interactions, influencing patient outcomes and trust in healthcare. Most interventions to mitigate bias rely solely on expensive human assessments, rather than leveraging AI technology with clinician input. To explore clinician-envisioned interventions, we conducted interviews with 16 primary care clinicians using provocative design methods to facilitate innovative ideation on using technology to address implicit bias. Themes from interviews included: patient communication monitoring, clinician self-awareness, systemic solutions, optimizing workflow, clinician education, and patient feedback. These envisioned interventions provide design considerations for technology-based implicit bias feedback tools. The broad range of innovative solutions generated by clinicians at various career stages reflects the utility of provocative design methods in unlocking creative thinking among a population that is not often encouraged to think beyond structured real-world constraints.