Empathy and Anthropomorphic Design: A Bold Vision for Healthcare Transformation
Think about the last time you used your iPhone. Did you notice how it gently wakes up when you lift it, almost like a pet responding to your touch? Or how your AirPods seamlessly connect as if anticipating your needs, rather than navigating complex Bluetooth menus? These aren't just convenient features – they're masterclasses in anthropomorphic design, where technology adopts human-like characteristics to create more intuitive, emotional connections with users.
We've grown so accustomed to these human-like intuitive interactions in our daily technology that we barely notice them anymore. The way our phones "sleep" and "wake up", how our apps "learn" our preferences, how our smart homes anticipate our routines – these are all examples of technology designed to mirror human behaviours and relationships. Even the language we use reflects this: we "kill" apps, "feed" data, and get "notifications" that politely "ask" for our attention.
This evolution in consumer technology hasn't happened by accident. Companies like Apple understood early on that the most powerful interfaces aren't just functional – they're emotionally resonant. Long before digital interfaces, designers like Ingvar Kamprad pioneered this approach by radically reimagining how consumers experience products. At IKEA, he didn't just sell furniture; he created immersive displays that showed pieces in living, authentic contexts. By presenting sofas, tables, and rooms as lived-in spaces rather than sterile showroom displays, Kamprad understood that people connect more deeply when they can imagine themselves within a design. This principle of designing for lived experiences applies to healthcare, too. Imagine a hospital-in-the-home system where care adapts to the individual blending seamlessly into their environment while maintaining clinical excellence. Just as IKEA brought design into the context of everyday life, we can reimagine healthcare systems to feel less like institutions and more like natural extensions of the spaces we live in.
They recognised that humans are naturally inclined to attribute personality and intention to the objects we interact with, and they leveraged this through anthropomorphic design principles:
Giving technology human-like physical or visual characteristics (like Duolingo's animated owl mascot that celebrates or commiserates with your learning progress)
Creating interfaces that mirror human behaviours (the way MacBooks "breathe" through their sleep light)
Designing interactions that feel like natural human communication (like assistants such as Siri or Alexa)
My curiosity and love of the arts has always drawn me across disciplines, with design and architecture being two of my greatest loves and taking up significant space in my intellectual landscape. This deep fascination led me to designers like Jony Ive and Steve Jobs, whose approach to digital design and user-centric approaches transformed how we interact with technology. These initial designs were intentionally skeuomorphic – mimicking familiar physical objects – allowing users to intuitively understand digital interfaces by relating them to tangible experiences. As users became more comfortable with digital interactions, these designs gradually evolved, becoming more ‘abstract’ yet still maintaining an essential human and intuitive quality.
Being selected for Apple’s Foundation scholarship program provided more than access—it deepened my appreciation for their Human Interface Guidelines, another dot in the orbit of my design practice. It reinforced my belief that design, whether for systems or products, must begin with human interactions at its core, not as an afterthought to the mechanics of systems and products themselves. This experience pushed me to once again question why we continue to accept such unnecessary complexity and friction in critical systems like healthcare. What if how we approach healthcare design wasn’t just functional but transformative, creating meaningful connections, dismantling barriers instead of creating them, while guaranteeing care that is both coordinated and exceptional?
The Healthcare Disconnect
But while we've embraced these human-like interactions in our consumer technology, one crucial sector remains largely antiquated in its approach: healthcare. Our legacy healthcare experiences feel stuck in a different era entirely. While we've grown accustomed to technology that anticipates our needs in almost every aspect of our lives, healthcare remains a maze of disconnected systems, impersonal interfaces, and frustratingly fragmented workflows. We toggle between HotDoc for GP bookings, the MyGov portal for Medicare, MyHealthRecord, specialist practice management systems, and hospital patient management systems—each one demanding we recount our history as if we’re strangers. And that’s all before we visit a pathology or radiology provider for follow-up. We then receive generic reminders that ignore our personal contexts and preferences. We navigate complex health decisions through interfaces that seem deliberately designed to remind us we’re interacting with a system and its bureaucracy, rather than a partner or ally fostering connection and trust in delivering our care.
The disconnect is undeniable—and it underscores an immense opportunity to transform the way we design for care.
Reimagining Preventive Care
Consider how we might transform preventive care. Today's health systems might send you a generic SMS prompt about a Medicare-covered health assessment, easily ignored among countless other notifications. But imagine instead a system that, like your favourite apps, learns your patterns and preferences. One that notices you tend to schedule health appointments on Wednesday afternoons, that you prefer telehealth consultations for initial discussions, that you engage more with visual information than text. A system that, like your smart home, anticipates your needs – gently nudging you about bulk-billed preventive services during the quieter periods it's learned about in your calendar, presenting information in ways that resonate with your personal health literacy level and cultural background.
The Emotional Architecture of Care
This isn't just about better scheduling or smoother workflows – it's about creating healthcare systems that understand context and emotion. Imagine a healthcare navigation system that doesn't just process your words but understands your circumstances. When you're searching for a specialist, it doesn't just match symptoms to doctors – it recognises your anxiety about a new diagnosis and adjusts its communication style accordingly. It remembers that you prefer detailed explanations over brief summaries, that you respond better to statistics than anecdotes, that you need more support during evening hours.
This foundation of intuitive, personalised interaction becomes even more crucial as healthcare increasingly moves beyond hospital walls. As we shift toward community-based care and hospital in the home programs, the need for emotionally intelligent, human-centred systems becomes not just desirable but essential. This divestment of care into the community represents a new paradigm of shared responsibility, where the systems delivering these services must thoughtfully wrap them in the humanity of emotional intelligence. These interactions should soothe us in moments of worry when we are alone in our homes, echoing the care and compassion that the skilled clinicians within the four walls of our institutions provide so intuitively.
Beyond the Chatbot
This isn't necessarily about creating more sophisticated chatbots. It's about fundamentally rethinking how we guide people through their healthcare journeys. Consider:
Triage systems that can detect when a parent's anxiety about their child's symptoms might warrant prioritisation, even if the symptoms seem minor
Appointment scheduling that understands the difference between "I can make it work" and "This time actually works for me"
Follow-up care that adapts its approach based on a patient's engagement level and emotional state, coordinating seamlessly to bolster adherence.
Imagine a hospital-in-the-home system that seamlessly integrates care into your daily life, supporting your treatment while respecting the comfort and individuality of your home, routine and those who live and support you. Smart devices that coordinate care with the same intuitive ease as a home automation system, but instead of adjusting lights and temperature, they're orchestrating healthcare visits, medication schedules, and remote vital sign monitoring. Navigating the rigor of delivering clinical care while honouring the personal rhythms of your home life.
The Human Factor
Critics might argue that emotional intelligence in healthcare systems could feel artificial or manipulative. But here's the thing: we're not trying to replicate human empathy. We're trying to create systems that can recognise and respond to emotional needs in a way that supports – rather than replaces – human connection.
The truth is, we're already using emotional intelligence in healthcare; it's just locked away in the minds of our best people – the empathetic nurses, allied health clinicians, doctors, and experienced care coordinators. By designing this emotional wisdom, into the process we can make it scalable, accessible, and available 24/7.
When Theory Meets Reality
It's 3 AM, and Luca's toddler has a fever that won't break. Like countless parents before him, he's caught in that liminal space between panic and rationality, desperately searching for guidance. Should he drive to the ED? Wait until morning and speak to his family GP? Phone Nurse-on-call? The healthcare system's standard response would be a flowchart of symptoms and questions (and for good reason), but devoid of the understanding that what Luca really needs right now is the balance of both medical guidance and emotional support and coaching.
But what if, instead, he could interact with a system that embodies the emotional intelligence of an experienced paediatric nurse? One that recognises the anxiety in Luca's voice when he activates his smart speaker, that knows from his MyHealthRecord that his child has a history of febrile convulsions, that understands this context shapes both the medical advice needed and how it should be delivered. The system gently walks him through assessment steps while acknowledging his concerns, uses calming visualisations to demonstrate proper temperature-taking technique, and connects him to the Virtual Emergency Department with his child's current presentation and relevant history already shared.
The Path Forward
What I’m advocating for isn’t science fiction—it’s a deliberate reimagining of human-centred design principles, layered with the rich legacy of exceptional consumer product design that has become deeply embedded in so many aspects of our digital lives. The technology exists, as does our understanding of the principles that shape how we, as humans, prefer to exist and navigate within the systems that surround and define the world we inhabit. The Australian healthcare infrastructure, with systems like Medicare and MyHealthRecord operating quietly in the background, far removed from care provisioning, highlights a deeper challenge: a fragmented care experience shaped by siloed IT systems that fail to connect providers, funders, and patients seamlessly. Yet, this failure of legacy infrastructure presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for transformation. What’s missing is the vision and resolve to reimagine healthcare interactions as proactive, emotionally intelligent systems that guide us seamlessly through the pathways of care.
The benefits would extend far beyond individual patient experiences. Healthcare providers, freed from rigid interfaces and administrative burden, could focus more on meaningful patient interactions. Public health initiatives could become more engaging and effective through personalised, contextually aware communication. The entire healthcare system could evolve from reactive to truly proactive and preventive care, leveraging technology to build genuine, trust-based relationships with patients over time.
As we continue to invest in healthcare technology, such as AI and AI agents, automation, telehealth expansions and wearable innovations, we have a choice. We can continue building systems and infrastructure that prioritise institutional efficiency over human experience, or we can embrace the lessons from consumer technology, industrial and urban design and create healthcare interactions that feel as natural and supportive as our daily digital companions.
The question remains: Are we ready to make healthcare truly human? The technology exists, and the opportunity lies in designing a system built on empathy and connection—embracing the transformation ahead and being bold enough to reimagine these legacy systems.
If you're looking to bridge the gaps in healthcare, from strategy to design and communication, let's connect. At Dialectical Consulting, we specialise in creating healthcare solutions that meet people where they are—helping to deliver impactful, user-centred care. Reach out to explore how we can transform your approach to healthcare via info@dialecticalconsulting.com.au or contact me via LinkedIn.
