Exploring the use of technology in healthcare spaces and its impact on empathic communication

As computing technologies in examination rooms become a more pervasive and dominant part of the healthcare experience, those technologies can disrupt the flow of information and empathic communication between a clinician and patient. We investigated how the design of healthcare spaces and the technologies inside affect doctor-patient interaction and communication. To identify clinicians' current practices and strategies of using technologies in the examination room, we interviewed clinicians from seven institutions and stakeholders involved in the design of healthcare spaces. We also documented the set-up of examination rooms from four clinics and hospitals. We interviewed and surveyed patients on their perception of clinicians using computers or other devices in the examination room during a medical consultation. Our findings show that clinicians and patients try to reach a common understanding about health priorities while facing the challenges of limited time and resources. We propose design recommendations that allow for efficient capturing and sharing of information between clinicians and patients while minimizing obstruction of empathic communication.