The coronavirus outbreak has brought epic casualties as more than 7.3 million cases have been confirmed globally and more than 413,000 people--and counting--are known to have died. In the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown flaws in our medical system, from basic preparedness to the coordinated distribution of medical equipment. Within this global tragedy, there are stories of heroism and renewed mind power and energy addressing health care. In reaction to shortages, we’re
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Beyond the Smart Home: The Health Hub of the Future
Editor's Note: This article is based a panel discussion taking place onMarch 11, 2016 at SXSW Interactive, titled, “Home, Sweet Home: The Health Hub of the Future.” For more information, click here. Almost every day, we see announcements about yet another “connected” product that is hailed as creating a “smarter” home environment. These types of products promise an easier, more convenient way of living, but they aren’t always connected to our lives—or all that smart. But there is an important
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Reimagining Aging: Designing Digital Health Products for Aging Boomers
Editor’s Note: Stuart Karten is the principal of Karten Design, a product innovation consultancy creating positive experiences between people and products specializing in health technology. The number of adults aged 65 and older will double to nearly 90 million people by 2050. The baby boom generation — the largest in history — aren’t babies anymore. They are taking their unique perspective into their senior years, and that perspective will help shape healthcare for the next several decades.
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Will the Home Become the Healthcare Center of the Future?
Editor's Note: Editor’s Note: Stuart Karten is the principal of Karten Design, a product innovation consultancy creating positive experiences between people and products specializing in health technology. This is an essay adapted from a talk he will give at the 2015 USC Body Computing Conference on October 9, 2015. Our design firm has been studying how the future of medicine is becoming “invisible”—powerful, ubiquitous, and intuitive. In most cases, technology has outpaced design. In its
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The Impact of Creating Emotion in Healthcare Design
Editor’s Note: Stuart Karten is the principal of Karten Design, a product innovation consultancy creating positive experiences between people and products specializing in health technology. Interfacing with the healthcare system is a journey fraught with emotion. Feelings like fear, embarrassment, and hope all play a role in how people perceive their experiences. During the course of designing medical and digital health products over 30 years, we’ve begun to understand the role that
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The Uberization of Healthcare
Editor's Note: Stuart Karten is the principal of Karten Design, a product innovation consultancy creating positive experiences between people and products specializing in health technology. This post was adapted from a speech given at MD&M West on Feb. 12. The Uber business model will soon come to healthcare. Just as Uber changed transportation in positive—and sometimes controversial—ways, healthcare will be infiltrated by startups wanting to change the healthcare model from
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