Public Health Challenge
Strategic Innovation In Product & Service Design
Partnership with Mckinsey&Company
Public Health Challenge
McKinsey&Company prepared a challenge and during four months we worked together to research and develop a solution for it.
The challenge
Increasingly health care services are extending beyond doctors' offices and hospitals to retail models like urgent care centers and pharmacies providing basic care, e.g., diabetic monitoring, flu shots, etc. Despite the rise of retail healthcare, many rural and urban communities remain underserved.
Design a solution to provide more accessible and convenient basic health services to an underserved community.
Research
There are 1.7 million people living under the poverty line in New York City.
So what does it mean to live under the poverty line?
An individual with no dependents, who make less than $32,000 annually. People who make less than $17,000 you can apply for Medicaid but then there is a gap between the poverty line and Medicaid who do not qualify for it. These people are either uninsured or they are insured but cannot pay the deductible or copayments.
Connecting Interviews with secondary research
What we heard
- People ask themselves “How am I going to pay?”
- People think it’s a waste of time to go to the doctor because it is far.
- People go to the first clinic they find online, or they hear about.
What we know
- There are free and sliding scale clinics that they can afford.
- There are clinics all over the city.
- Not every clinic offers the same type of care.
Insight
People need help finding the right clinic for them according to their insurance plan, their location and the type of care that they need.
What we heard
- People wait to go to the doctor until something becomes very inconvenient.
- People find pharmacists to be more accessible than doctors.
What we know
- Because of this, health risk factors are missed every day.
- Pharmacists are only able to make suggestions on how to treat a condition.
Insight
People need to seek help sooner to keep things from getting serious, they need regular check-ups to catch things early, and they need to learn to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Design Challenges
Solution
Concept
Citizens under the poverty line need access to preventative care and education to lead a better lifestyle, to prevent serious diseases, and try to avoid costly medical bills.
Take Care is an approachable service that provides easy access to regular screenings, professional assessment of minor injuries or illnesses, and assistance with the selection of clinics and health programs.
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