I often find myself thinking about design, not just in terms of projects, but how it shapes much bigger parts of life: health care delivery, insurance systems, and access to care. When you experience flaws firsthand — or see someone you care about struggle within a broken system — the gaps and limitations become painfully clear. I’ve long believed that health care, at its core, is a reflection of how much we value humanity itself. Yet today, it feels like humanity is caught between two forces: the rising use of design thinking to improve accessibility, delivery, and experience, and the relentless pressure of costs and systemic inefficiencies that push care further out of reach for many.
The irony is striking: preventive, human-centered care is often less costly than treating advanced illness. So why are we still struggling to design health care systems that recognize and act on this reality?
That’s exactly the question I explore in my latest article:
“Beyond Logos: How Design Thinking Is Re-imagining Health Care Delivery.”
As designers, many of us do more than create logos, websites, or marketing materials. We research. We prototype. We solve complex problems with empathy and collaboration. In health care, design thinking can — and must — play a critical role in building systems that are proactive, personalized, preventive, and equitable.
The opportunity isn’t just to fix what’s broken.
It’s to re-imagine health care around the full human experience, creating systems that work better for everyone.
When most people hear the word “designer,” they immediately think of logos, websites, or marketing materials — or perhaps interior design. And while those are important contributions, for many of us, design goes much deeper.
Designers are problem-solvers. We are researchers, system thinkers, prototypers, and human connectors. Our skills are built for navigating complexity, making us uniquely suited to tackle one of society’s most urgent challenges: re-imagining how health care is delivered.
For much of my life, I have been interested in the challenges surrounding health care delivery and insurance. Over 20 years ago, I wrote my graduate school thesis on this very issue — a topic that has only grown more urgent with time.
Having lived and worked in both the United States and Spain — including eight years immersed in Spain’s public health care system alongside private medical services — I’ve witnessed firsthand how different models approach the same fundamental human needs. I’ve often wondered: What if we could merge the best of both systems? Imagine combining the innovation and specialization of U.S. health care with the accessibility and equity of Spain’s public model.
Of course, no system is perfect. Every model carries its strengths and limitations. But the opportunity exists to re-imagine a new kind of health care — one that prioritizes innovation, universal access, efficiency, and compassion. The goal isn’t just to fix what’s broken; it’s to design a system that truly works for all people.
That’s where design thinking comes in.
By applying human-centered design — grounded in empathy, research, rapid prototyping, and collaborative problem-solving — we can rethink health care delivery at every level, from patient experience to system-wide infrastructure.
Re-imagining Health Care Delivery for Dramatically Better Outcomes
Today’s health care often operates within a reactive model: waiting for symptoms to appear before intervening and focusing primarily on treatments rather than prevention. In other words, the system tends to treat conditions after they have developed, instead of working proactively to prevent them or address root causes early. This approach leads to higher costs, overburdened systems, and poorer long-term outcomes.
While medical care remains essential, there is a growing opportunity to rethink health care more holistically — integrating lifestyle interventions, mental health support, and preventive strategies that promote sustainable well-being.
Sometimes, the solution to a large, systemic problem can seem deceptively simple. But without digging deeper — without understanding where systems start to fail, and without listening carefully to both patients and providers — real, lasting change cannot happen.
Re-imagining health care means shifting toward systems that are:
- Proactive rather than reactive
- Personalized rather than standardized
- Preventive rather than treatment-focused
- Equitable rather than fragmented
It means designing around the entire human experience, not just around the disease.
Real-World Examples of Health Care Innovation
Several leading organizations are already showing how human-centered innovation is transforming care:
- Penn Medicine uses gamification to engage patients with uncontrolled diabetes, heart disease, and cancer—many facing challenges like unemployment or homelessness. By adding points, levels, and rewards, they boost motivation and treatment adherence. They’ve found that applying behavioral economics is low-cost and effective, requiring only careful design and attention to detail.
- Mount Sinai Health System uses AI to detect heart failure risks before symptoms appear, enabling earlier interventions and reducing hospitalizations.
- One Medical and Kaiser Permanente offer virtual-first care models, allowing patients to access doctors by text or video anytime, dramatically improving access and convenience.
- Cityblock Health brings holistic care into neighborhoods, addressing housing, food security, and mental health alongside traditional medical needs.
- Mayo Clinic’s Center for Individualized Medicine uses genomics to personalize treatment plans, accelerating more effective and targeted care.
- Geisinger Health System pioneered “surgical warranties,” guaranteeing the quality of care post-procedure and focusing incentives on long-term outcomes.
These examples are not just about new technology or new policies — they’re about rethinking the human experience of health care itself.
Designing the future of health care is about more than improving systems — it’s about re-centering care around people, using empathy, creativity, and innovation to build a model that is not only more effective but also deeply responsive to human needs beyond the medical.
