Healthc Inform Res.  2018 Jan;24(1):79-85. 10.4258/hir.2018.24.1.79.

Customer Discovery as the First Essential Step for Successful Health Information Technology System Development

• Thamjamrassri P
• Song Y
• Tak J
• Kang H
• Kong HJ
• Hong J

• KMID: 2403299
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4258/hir.2018.24.1.79

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Customer discovery (CD) is a method to determine if there are actual customers for a product/service and what they would want before actually developing the product/service. This concept, however, is rather new to health information technology (IT) systems. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to demonstrate how to use the CD method in developing a comprehensive health IT service for patients with knee/leg pain.
METHODS
We participated in a 6-week I-Corps program to perform CD, in which we interviewed 55 people in person, by phone, or by video conference within 6 weeks: 4 weeks in the United States and 2 weeks in Korea. The interviewees included orthopedic doctors, physical therapists, physical trainers, physicians, researchers, pharmacists, vendors, and patients. By analyzing the interview data, the aim was to revise our business model accordingly.
RESULTS
Using the CD approach enabled us to understand the customer segments and identify value propositions. We concluded that a facilitating tele-rehabilitation system is needed the most and that the most suitable customer segment is early stage arthritis patients. We identified a new design concept for the customer segment. Furthermore, CD is required to identify value propositions in detail.
CONCLUSIONS
CD is crucial to determine a more desirable direction in developing health IT systems, and it can be a powerful tool to increase the potential for successful commercialization in the health IT field.

Keyword

Telerehabilitation; Health Services Needs and Demand; Qualitative Research; Entrepreneurship

MeSH Terms

Arthritis
Commerce
Entrepreneurship
Health Services Needs and Demand
Humans
Korea
Medical Informatics*
Methods
Orthopedics
Pharmacists
Physical Therapists
Qualitative Research
Telerehabilitation
United States

Figure

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  Figure 1 Breakdown of the customer discovery process.

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  Figure 2 Number of interviewees recruited using different approaches.

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