Patient centricity means more than developing great medicines. It is about empowering people to use them safely and confidently in their daily lives.
Nicholas Stones, Director, Human Factors and User Experience, Novartis
Supporting RMS patients learning to self-inject using a digital platform
The Novartis digital platform addresses a significant challenge in self-administration. Many RMS patients use autoinjector pens at home in their treatment, but can face inconsistent onboarding, limited training opportunities and injection anxiety. This can create uncertainty about important steps and techniques, leading to reduced confidence and use errors.
Novartis worked with Team to develop a digital onboarding experience to help tackle this challenge and help patients inject safely and confidently at home. Easily accessible via a QR code on the product packaging, the mobile-optimised, web-based platform provides a range of learning materials tailored to different needs, including:
- Clear and navigable written guidance
- Animated instructional videos
- An interactive, AR-like virtual practice that allows patients to simulate an injection in a low-stress environment.
Support outside of the clinic
The digital onboarding experience complements nurse-led training and the existing approved instructions for use (IFU) provided with the autoinjector, helping to overcome known challenges and use errors associated with learning to self-inject, such as lifting the device too early before the injection is complete.
Alongside improving the patient experience and supporting better health outcomes, the digital approach can reduce reliance on repeated in-person training, helping to ease pressure on healthcare systems.
We wanted to give people a better treatment experience, giving them the information they need from the start in an accessible and interactive way. It’s really exciting to see the importance of the overall user experience being recognised with this nomination.
Lara Zaki, Senior FEI Strategy and Innovation Consultant, Team Consulting
This UX Design Award nomination recognises the value of combining human factors expertise and behavioural science in digital design, and the importance of collaboration to deliver a solution that improves the experience of patients with RMS.
It also emphasises the importance of well-designed onboarding experiences to support safe and effective use of drug delivery devices from the very first injection.
Winners of the UX Design Award will be announced in September.
