I was on the phone with my uncle last week, and I could hear the aggravation in his voice. He’s in his late 60s, a sharp individual, but he was mentioning struggling to work with his new patient portal app. “Like they don’t want me to access it,” he explained, and I could almost imagine him tossing his hands up in frustration. “I just wanted to access my most recent lab work and ended up feeling like I needed a doctoral degree in computer science to do so. I abandoned ship and went to get printed reports from the Hospital Lab.” 

And that’s when it hit me. If my uncle, who is relatively comfortable with technology, is struggling this much, what about everyone else? What about the older patients, not as tech-literate, or struggling with a serious disease? Are we creating digital health tools that genuinely assist people, or are we merely adding more friction and frustration? 

Healthcare leaders have been so concentrated on the technology—the data, the AI, the interoperability—that they appear to have forgotten about the person on the opposite side of the screen. And that is an enormous issue. Because in healthcare, trust is paramount. And if a patient has a poor digital encounter, it doesn’t simply look bad for the app; it undermines their confidence in the whole healthcare organisation. 

The Brutal Truth About Patient Disengagement 

The numbers are just brutal. The cost of poor patient engagement is staggering. We’re talking about $100 billion in unnecessary medical costs from medication non-adherence alone [1]. Another $150 billion is lost to missed appointments [1]. And a whopping 71% of hospital readmissions are due to patients neglecting their care plans [1]. 

This isn’t just a financial problem; it’s a human problem. Behind every one of those statistics is a person who isn’t getting the care they need. And in many cases, it’s because the digital tools we’ve given them are confusing, clunky, and simply difficult to use. 

The UX Chasm in Healthcare 

Here’s the thing: healthcare UX is roughly a decade behind other sectors [2]. We have all become used to the smooth, intuitive experience we receive from our banking apps, retail apps, and travel apps. But in healthcare, we seem to have boarded a time machine. We still have clunky interfaces, are overwhelmed by information, and lack fundamental usability. 

And it isn’t just patients who suffer. Physicians are burning out at an unprecedented rate, in part because they spend more time battling poorly designed software than they do with their patients. A study found that for every hour a physician spends with a patient, they will spend two hours on computer work [2]. That’s not only inefficient; it’s a recipe for disaster. 

Designing for Trust: A Radical Idea for Healthcare UX 

So what’s the solution? How do we span this gap between the promise of digital health and the actuality of the patient experience? It comes down to one simple, radical notion: designing for trust. 

We must begin designing for trust. We must produce digital health experiences that are simple to use but also clear, empathetic, and respectful of the patient’s time and intelligence. Here are some things I’ve learned along the way: 

The ROI of Giving a Damn 

Investing in UX isn’t nice to have; it’s a must-have. ROI of good UX is absolute. Hospitals with “excellent” patient satisfaction scores have an average net margin of 4.7%, vs. only 1.8% for hospitals with lower scores [1]. And where 40% of patients have changed providers over a bad experience, a great digital experience can be your strongest competitive asset [1]. 

The Secret Weapon: Staff Augmentation 

I see what you’re thinking. It all sounds terrific, but where will I find the people to get it done? The need for talented UX designers, particularly those with a medical background, is through the roof. The old hiring process is too slow and cumbersome to manage. 

It is where staff augmentation fits in. Through an alliance with a specialist company (I am a UI/UX specialist employed at Mind IT® with healthcare industry expertise), you can easily and rapidly bring in the skilled UX professional you require, without the overhead and long-term obligation of an in-house employee. It’s a scalable and budget-friendly method for building your team, plugging skill gaps, and driving digital transformation. 

The Bottom Line 

We are at a healthcare crossroads. We possess the technology to develop a more connected, more personalised, and more patient-centred system of healthcare. Technology, however, is only half the formula. We must design for trust. We must place the human back at the centre of healthcare. And we must act now. 

References 

[1] Baytech Consulting. (2025). How Digital-First Software is Transforming Patient Engagement & ROI in Healthcare. https://www.baytechconsulting.com/blog/digital-first-patient-experience-healthcare 

[2] Eleken. (2025). Healthcare UX Challenges: Why Is It So Hard to Make Good Software in Healthcare?. https://eleken.co/blog-posts/healthcare-ux 

Sujoy Roy
(Head – Digital Marketing)

From my teenage time, I had a quench to solve problems and loved leadership. Starting my career in relation management, ignited my passion for managing people. While managing I realized technology needs to be incorporated to keep pace with the changing world & do my work efficiently.