UX Healthcare is an international series of events dedicated to designing UX in healthcare. In June 2025, it was held in Poland for the first time, as an highly insightful meetup in Warsaw, which we had the opportunity to attend.
The event brought together representatives from foundations, medical institutes, technology companies, and the design community. Three key areas took centre stage: VR in healthcare as a tool to reduce anxiety, barriers to implementing innovation in healthcare, and challenges in delivering patient-centred UX.
Below we share key observations from each of these topics, along with reflections that may be useful for both design teams and decision-makers in the healthcare sector.
VR in healthcare – reducing children’s anxiety during IV insertions
K.I.D.S. Foundation presented a design solution implemented in paediatric hospitals, addressing a very specific problem: the stress and anxiety children experience during intravenous (IV) insertions. While the procedure is routine from the staff’s perspective, it can be a source of intense, negative emotions for the child.
The design team approached the challenge systemically, focusing not only on the technology itself but primarily on the user context. The key was to create a solution that would not disrupt the work of the medical staff, yet significantly improve the patient’s experience.
They used VR technology (Vive Flow headsets) to temporarily redirect the child’s attention and reduce stress levels. The choice of equipment was driven by design criteria: suitable for a child’s head, easy to disinfect, and simple to operate. The results, supported by research, show a significant reduction in anxiety and emotional tension.
This case demonstrates that a well-designed intervention requires thoughtful integration into clinical practice. It shows that improving the quality of the patient experience is possible when technology, operational context, and user needs are given equal weight.
Solution and effectiveness confirmed by research
- Reduction of short-term pain by 59%
- Reduction of stress and anxiety during the procedure by 70%
According to research conducted by the Institute of Psychology at the University of Wrocław during blood collection procedures on patients aged 7 to 17 at the Paediatric Nephrology Clinic in Wrocław.
- Improvement of patient experience by 100%
According to research by scientists from the University of Toronto during intravenous port procedures on patients aged 8 to 18 at a paediatric hospital in Toronto.
- Reduction of procedure time by 30%
According to research conducted by scientists from the University of Florence during IV insertions in the Oncology and Haematology Department at a paediatric hospital in Italy.
Innovation in healthcare and systemic challenges – what is holding UX back?
The second presentation focused on the integration of new technologies in the healthcare sector. Representatives from the Medical Innovation Institute highlighted the significant differences between implementing digital solutions in medicine compared to the commercial sector. Many healthcare facilities operate in a highly fragmented technological environment, which can make effective integration of new solutions challenging.
When it comes to technologies based on artificial intelligence, additional challenges arise, including certification requirements and the need to train models on local data that reflect the specific context of a given facility.
It is worth noting that implementing more complex innovations is often accompanied by extensive bureaucracy, which, for many hospitals, can be a barrier that is difficult to overcome. As a result, these processes tend to move much more slowly than in sectors not subject to such strict regulations.
A particularly interesting point was the concept of the health concierge – a person who supports the patient in planning and coordinating their treatment, and often also in navigating complex administrative procedures.
Such a role can serve as a buffer between the healthcare system and the patient, helping them navigate the process and improving the efficiency of care. From a design perspective, the health concierge can be seen as a touchpoint that can be refined and modelled depending on the context of the facility.
The patient as a co-designer of healthcare services
The third topic focused on the level of patient involvement in the design of healthcare services. As Robert Statkiewicz from Ludzie i Medycyna Foundation rightly pointed out, sending out a survey is not the same as involving the user in the design process.
Instead of consultations focused on evaluating pre-prepared solutions, the speaker advocated for a participatory approach in which the patient helps define the problems, co-creates ideas, and takes part in testing the solutions.
The classic Arnstein’s ladder of participation was referenced, illustrating that true partnership with the user only begins at the higher levels of shared decision-making.
This theme resonates particularly strongly in the context of projects involving long-term treatment or chronic conditions. The differences in patients’ needs, barriers, and priorities, even with the same diagnosis, are so significant that designing services without the genuine involvement of end users remains a risky endeavour.
UX in Healthcare and a systemic approach
The UX Healthcare 2025 meetup in Warsaw made it clear that improving the patient experience requires much more than aesthetically pleasing interfaces. What truly matters are systemic actions: understanding regulatory constraints, acknowledging operational realities, and creating space for meaningful user participation in the design process.
From a design firm’s perspective, this means combining design expertise with knowledge of medicine, law, and the organisational dynamics of healthcare facilities. There is also a growing need to design services around new roles, such as the health concierge, which acts as a bridge between the patient and the institution.
Find out how we researched and designed the process of a medical appointment and issuing eDocuments.
For our team, this all comes down to one thing: working on UX in healthcare is not just a project, it is a long-term transformational process that demands empathy, expertise, and operational capability.
