Design Thinking for Innovation Final Reflection    The Challenge  Professionals who travel frequently for work and are enrolled in psychiatric therapy are often  not able to book appointments on the weekdays when their psychiatrist is available. These  individuals therefore refrain from the care they need, and psychiatrists lose opportunities to  work with clients. According to an academic study in 2012, 39% of Americans travel for work  and 15% of Americans seek therapy at some point in their adult lives. Psychiatrists lose an  average of 7 out of 30 clients a year due to incompatibility with client travel schedules.     To address this gap, many psychiatrists are adopting telemedicine practices. Psychiatrists offer  services via videoconferencing to provide therapy to clients who travel for work and are not  available for weekday in-person appointments. The use of telemedicine has increased by 40%  since 2016, and is becoming a viable solution. However, many practices hesitate to use this  revolutionary method. Teleconferencing is expensive and risky from a data policy compliance  standpoint – it often requires licenses for videoconferencing software that are HIPAA  compliant. Teleconferencing is an innovative solution more commonly offered in urban  environments, but is less accessible in suburban and rural environments. How can a suburban  psychiatric therapist brainstorm ways to innovate and introduce telemedicine methods to  his/her practice?    Selected Method  In this case study, the selected tool is Mind Mapping –  because suburban therapists are not  generally exposed to industry leaders in telemedicine who can proliferate knowledge about  telemedicine, Mind Mapping will allow them to look at telemedicine with a fresh perspective  and capture any initial thoughts and concepts to address in the innovation process. Therapists  are usually part of a larger network related by competency, insurance company, or region. The  mind mapping process can be applied with a lens specific to any of those networks or applied at  a general level as a foundation.    Application  The core concept in this exercise is “Telemedicine”. The first step is to write down words, ideas,  and/or pictures related to telemedicine, in no particular order and without anticipating a  specific outcome or result. Figure 1 on the next page displays the initial concepts listed in the  exercise.

Figure 1

Telemedicine

Software  Data  Trailblazing  Lack of personal  relationship

Increased interpersonal  connection

Regulation  Demand  Wifi

Better experience for client  Quality Experience  Less commuting  Complement in-person  sessions

Possible changes in session  fees

Equipment  Costs  Training

The second step is to connect the words in a visual format, with “Telemedicine” as the core  concept. This exercise follows a branch format – each branch will have an overarching concept  with multiple sub-contexts attached. Figure 2 is an illustration of the mind mapping exercise.    Figure 2

The mind mapping process allows the user to think about various concepts. Here, the concepts  encompass the benefits, disadvantages, and key considerations for adopting telemedicine. Of  all the concepts listed, four were chosen as the main pillars of telemedicine: Quality experience,  Cost, Data, and Demand.     Suburban therapists’ primary objective is to provide quality care that effectively carries out the  client’s goals and improves their quality of life. Some of the concepts listed under this category

are conflicting and require additional research. For example, therapists are unsure of whether  telemedicine will increase quality of care due to more frequent points of connection or  decrease quality of care because sessions are more effective when therapists are able to  determine social cues in person that will be harder to discern while videoconferencing.  Therapists must also consider costs to both the provider and the client. Therapists may not be  certain which technologies are required to successfully carry out an online session. In order to  stay compliant, therapists may need to purchase psychiatry-specific softwares that provide a  safe platform for clients to interact – this would increase costs for the provider. Costs for  commuting to the practice would decrease for both providers and clients. From a data  standpoint, health information privacy is a major consideration and would require regulatory  monitoring and additional compliance measures. Finally, there is an obvious incentive related  to patient demand for therapists to adopt telemedicine. Suburban therapists who adopt  telemedicine could be trailblazers in their community and pave the way for such services to be  adopted by neighboring psychiatrists.    Insights  Mind mapping is an effective exercise to list advantages and disadvantages of adopting brand  new technology and change the way therapy is executed in suburban environments. It is a non- judgmental approach where every concept is weighted equally and initial thoughts can form  critical questions and actionable steps. Using this exercise led to questions regarding regulatory  considerations, quality of care, and cost/benefit analysis. If the therapist is part of a larger  organization that hosts a team of therapists, the team can work to prioritize these constraints.  For example, if cost was the primary concept and quality of care was second on an  organizational level, the team can brainstorm key questions surrounding each concept in the  cost category before addressing concepts under quality of care.     It is also important that multiple perspectives are considered, so if the therapist works with  staff members who manage these appointments and patient data should participate and  complete the exercise.    Alternative Approaches & Conclusion  While mind mapping is an effective exercise for adopting telemedicine from a provider’s  perspective, an alternative approach is certainly possible in this case study. The mind mapping  exercise can also be conducted from the patient’s point of view. The patient has an entirely  different set of priorities – insurance, access to wifi, and preference of care options are a few  considerations that may be unique to their perspective. The mind mapping exercise should be  completed at an individual level for patients across a substantial sample size. Once those  concepts are collected, they can be aggregated to define what is important to patients overall.  Mind mapping encourages therapist to innovate without diving into complicated details  regarding barriers to innovation. This method allows for therapists to see new ways of  operating and align on a vision before moving forward and creating a strategy.


Design Thinking for Innovation Final Reflection The Challenge Professionals who travel frequently for work and are enrolled in psychiatric therapy are often not able to book appointments on the weekdays when their psychiatrist is available . These individuals therefore refrain from the care they need , and psychiatrists lose opportunities to work with clients . According to an academic study in 2012 , 39 % of Americans travel for work and 15 % of Americans seek therapy at some point in their adult lives . Psychiatrists lose an average of 7 out of 30 clients a year due to incompatibility with client travel schedules . To address this gap , many psychiatrists are adopting telemedicine practices . Psychiatrists offer services via videoconferencing to provide therapy to clients who travel for work and are not available for weekday in - person appointments . The use of telemedicine has increased by 40 % since 2016 , and is becoming a viable solution . However , many practices hesitate to use this revolutionary method . Teleconferencing is expensive and risky from a data policy compliance standpoint – it often requires licenses for videoconferencing software that are HIPAA compliant . Teleconferencing is an innovative solution more commonly offered in urban environments , but is less accessible in suburban and rural environments . How can a suburban psychiatric therapist brainstorm ways to innovate and introduce telemedicine methods to his / her practice ? Selected Method In this case study , the selected tool is Mind Mapping – because suburban therapists are not generally exposed to industry leaders in telemedicine who can proliferate knowledge about telemedicine , Mind Mapping will allow them to look at telemedicine with a fresh perspective and capture any initial thoughts and concepts to address in the innovation process . Therapists are usually part of a larger network related by competency , insurance company , or region . The mind mapping process can be applied with a lens specific to any of those networks or applied at a general level as a foundation . Application The core concept in this exercise is “ Telemedicine ” . The first step is to write down words , ideas , and/or pictures related to telemedicine , in no particular order and without anticipating a specific outcome or result . Figure 1 on the next page displays the initial concepts listed in the exercise . Figure 1 Telemedicine Software Data Trailblazing Lack of personal relationship Increased interpersonal connection Regulation Demand Wifi Better experience for client Quality Experience Less commuting Complement in - person sessions Possible changes in session fees Equipment Costs Training The second step is to connect the words in a visual format , with “ Telemedicine ” as the core concept . This exercise follows a branch format – each branch will have an overarching concept with multiple sub - contexts attached . Figure 2 is an illustration of the mind mapping exercise . Figure 2 The mind mapping process allows the user to think about various concepts . Here , the concepts encompass the benefits , disadvantages , and key considerations for adopting telemedicine . Of all the concepts listed , four were chosen as the main pillars of telemedicine : Quality experience , Cost , Data , and Demand . Suburban therapists ’ primary objective is to provide quality care that effectively carries out the client ’s goals and improves their quality of life . Some of the concepts listed under this category are conflicting and require additional research . For example , therapists are unsure of whether telemedicine will increase quality of care due to more frequent points of connection or decrease quality of care because sessions are more effective when therapists are able to determine social cues in person that will be harder to discern while videoconferencing . Therapists must also consider costs to both the provider and the client . Therapists may not be certain which technologies are required to successfully carry out an online session . In order to stay compliant , therapists may need to purchase psychiatry - specific softwares that provide a safe platform for clients to interact – this would increase costs for the provider . Costs for commuting to the practice would decrease for both providers and clients . From a data standpoint , health information privacy is a major consideration and would require regulatory monitoring and additional compliance measures . Finally , there is an obvious incentive related to patient demand for therapists to adopt telemedicine . Suburban therapists who adopt telemedicine could be trailblazers in their community and pave the way for such services to be adopted by neighboring psychiatrists . Insights Mind mapping is an effective exercise to list advantages and disadvantages of adopting brand new technology and change the way therapy is executed in suburban environments . It is a non- judgmental approach where every concept is weighted equally and initial thoughts can form critical questions and actionable steps . Using this exercise led to questions regarding regulatory considerations , quality of care , and cost / benefit analysis . If the therapist is part of a larger organization that hosts a team of therapists , the team can work to prioritize these constraints . For example , if cost was the primary concept and quality of care was second on an organizational level , the team can brainstorm key questions surrounding each concept in the cost category before addressing concepts under quality of care . It is also important that multiple perspectives are considered , so if the therapist works with staff members who manage these appointments and patient data should participate and complete the exercise . Alternative Approaches & Conclusion While mind mapping is an effective exercise for adopting telemedicine from a provider ’s perspective , an alternative approach is certainly possible in this case study . The mind mapping exercise can also be conducted from the patient ’s point of view . The patient has an entirely different set of priorities – insurance , access to wifi , and preference of care options are a few considerations that may be unique to their perspective . The mind mapping exercise should be completed at an individual level for patients across a substantial sample size . Once those concepts are collected , they can be aggregated to define what is important to patients overall . Mind mapping encourages therapist to innovate without diving into complicated details regarding barriers to innovation . This method allows for therapists to see new ways of operating and align on a vision before moving forward and creating a strategy .