Health Chart

Our project aims to evaluate the feasibility of developing a patient-centred and decision-relevant visual digital representation of the most significant current health issues of typical patients.

Factsheet

Schools involved Bern Academy of the Arts
School of Engineering and Computer Science
Institute(s) Institute of Design Research
Institut für Medizininformatik I4MI
Research unit(s) Knowledge Visualization
I4MI / Digital Health Lab
Strategic thematic field Thematic field "Humane Digital Transformation"
Funding organisation BFH
Duration 01.09.2024 - 28.02.2025
Head of project Michaël Laurac
Project staff Michaël Laurac
Prof. Jimmy Schmid
Michael Flückiger
Stephan Gerhard
Partner Aware GmbH

Situation

Patients have often have troubles keeping track of their health issues. During doctor visits, they are frequently underprepared, and seemingly insignificant complaints such as fatigue, back pain, painful menstruation, digestive problems, declining vision or hearing, or temporary weakness are often overlooked or underestimated, even though they can significantly impact quality of life. The visualisation of health issues by patients should be understandable and easily communicable to healthcare professionals. This would provide patients and their relatives with a regular monitoring tool, leading to a better understanding of their health status and granting more autonomy in shared decision-making with healthcare professionals.

Course of action

Our work related to the development a visual digital representation that provides patients with an overview of their health status will answer several important questions: - How can patients better perceive and understand their health condition when it is presented visually? - How can health issues be detected, monitored, and addressed earlier in time to improve patients' quality of life? - How can communication between patients and healthcare professionals be simplified? - What technical and regulatory challenges must be considered in developing this solution? - How can visualisation support patients in their decision-making? Answering these questions will significantly contribute to promoting patient-centred healthcare, supporting value-based healthcare, and potentially reducing healthcare system costs.