WHY WE
INVENTED SECURA...

THE PROBLEM

Germany faces a skilled worker shortage in healthcare, and rising patient numbers add to the nursing staff's workload

THE STATUS QUO

German healthcare lags in digitalization, with bureaucratic hurdles disrupting efficiency and pushing patient care into the background.

THE SOLOUTION

This is where Secura comes in, introducing structure, flexibility and efficiency to the daily routines of nurses with a digital interface.

THE PROBLEM

Volunteer helpers in flood disasters are necessary
but rarely coordinated, as emergency forces are needed elsewhere.

THE STATUS QOU

There are concepts, but no exisiting solutions
that effectively prepares and supports volunteers
in flood disasters.

THE SOLOUTION

UnitedHands ensures that the deployment of volunteers is coordinated, simple and efficient, allowing them to share positive experiences.

PAINPOINTS

Through expert interviews

To gain a deeper understanding of the working conditions and pressures faced by nurses, we conducted expert interviews with professors and doctors from Neu-Ulm University. The results helped us initially narrow down the solution space for our interface and define the main functions of our concept:

Documentation is neglected

Due to the time pressure faced by the nurse, documentation is often neglected.

Keeping an overview

Maintaining an overview was a fundamental difficulty, especially due to the time pressure and the high workload per person.

Improvised, situative planning

Nurses do not organize themselves with a schedule, but rather proceed situationally, keeping much of the information in their heads.

Extraordinary cases disrupt

Extraordinary cases occur frequently and put the nurses under increased time pressure.

Documentation is neglected

Due to the time pressure faced by the nurse, documentation is often neglected.

Keeping an overview

Maintaining an overview was a fundamental difficulty, especially due to the time pressure and the high workload per person.

Improvised, situative planning

Nurses do not organize themselves with a schedule, but rather proceed situationally, keeping much of the information in their heads.

Extraordinary cases disrupt

Extraordinary cases occur frequently and put the nurses under increased time pressure.

Documentation is neglected

Due to the time pressure faced by the nurse, documentation is often neglected.

Keeping an overview

Maintaining an overview was a fundamental difficulty, especially due to the time pressure and the high workload per person.

Improvised, situative planning

Nurses do not organize themselves with a schedule, but rather proceed situationally, keeping much of the information in their heads.

Extraordinary cases disrupt

Extraordinary cases occur frequently and put the nurses under increased time pressure.

Documentation is neglected

Due to the time pressure faced by the nurse, documentation is often neglected.

CONCEPTION

High-fidelity wireframes

After conducting ideation sessions and developing the initial ideas, we decided to create an MVP as a high-fidelity wireframe protoype. The main features included in our prototype were:

#1 The Task Cards

Task shedule with a timeline personalized für the nurse

Exact room and bed name for orientation

#2 Specific patient overview

Basic overview of the patient, possibly information about abnormalities

Specific task overview of every patient

#3Quick and fast documentation

recording of any abnormalities of the patient by voice input

automatic transcription of the words

USER TESTING

Process Images

BRIEFING

TESTING FONT SIZES

USER TESTING

Gaining new insights

We then subjected it to user testing. Our users were trained professionals from the nursing field. Their feedback helped us further expand our prototype with useful features and correct certain errors:

Delegate Tasks

Nurses need to be able to delegate tasks, if there is no other option due to a lack of time

Wording

Conspicuities and annotations are not the same in our product and need clear wording.

Clear Check-in

It must be clearly visible when you are checked in. And it is crucial where you place the check-in.

Reactive

Our solution must be as flexible and reactive as possible to make the nurses' everyday lives easier and not hinder them even more.

REALISATION

The Interface

The core element of our design is our task cards. They visually represent different task statuses, giving nurses a quick and clear overview. At a glance, they can see which patient a task is assigned to, whether it can be rescheduled, if there were any irregularities, or if a colleague is taking over the task during a shift change. These cards appear throughout our various use cases at different stages and times. We've distilled the most essential parameters for nurses into a simple, streamlined format, enabling them to quickly and efficiently scan key information - helping to ease their workload in high-pressure situations.

task card nurse, Aufgabencard Pflegekraft

Abgeschlossene Aufgabencard mit Vermerk, completed task with annomaly marked

Room, bed and patient

task done, anomaly “marked“

task done, anomaly recorded

Aufgabencard Pflegekraft, Task card nurse

Room and bed (several patients)

task not flexible

takeover by another caregiver

DESIGN

Key Features

Task schedule

A visual timeline indicates the time gap to the next task, helping nurses quickly assess how much time remains and whether they are staying on track, even in stressful situations. Most importantly, this system solves the problem of nurses having to remember everything mentally, allowing them to focus more on their patients instead of spending time organizing their own tasks. If timing issues arise, tasks can be rescheduled via drag-and-drop.

Keyfeature 1

Check-In and patient infos

The check-in is done via an NFC chip at the patient's bed but also visually represented in the interface. The interface then shows an overview with information about the type of illness, allergies, length of stay, and any noted anomalies. This allows the caregiver to avoid the hassle of carrying or searching for paper records. When the caregiver swipes right, the patient's personal task list opens. Here, they can see all the tasks that are still pending, for this specific patient. By clicking, the caregiver can start a task, which is clearly indicated in dark mode. In this mode, the task can be canceled or marked as done, at any time.

Keyfeature 2

Adding anomalies

Once the task is completed, anomalies can either be marked or recorded directly. This option is necessary because nurses must always document such incidents. Our research revealed that, due to time constraints, this step is often neglected, even though it is important. If the nurses are under time pressure, they can at least mark the anomalie and thus know which patient it was and at what time it occurred. This way, they can better remember what they wanted to note. However, the caregiver will also be repeatedly reminded to record the irregularity, as the task is not considered 100% completed if it is marked.

Keyfeature 3

New Handover concept

In German hospitals, nurses are assigned specific patients for their shift, meaning the same patients remain under their care during handovers. This requires the outgoing nurse to provide all essential information. To streamline this, anomalies can be documented directly in the system, allowing the nurses to use the 30-minute handover more efficiently at the patient’s side, instead of in lengthy discussions. Nurses can work in parallel, and task takeovers are clearly indicated by a green, blinking profile icon in the interface.

Keyfeature 4

Help requests

Safety has the highest priority in hospitals. Even if our interface functions well, it is crucial that nurses can quickly request assistance when needed. With the smartwatch’s physical button, nurses can easily and instantly call for help at any time. Other nurses receive the alert via vibration on their smartwatch and can accept the request with a simple swipe. This information is transmitted immediately, allowing the nurse in need to know right away whether help is on the way.

Keyfeature 5

WHAT I HAVE
LEARNED...

DECISIONS ARE IMPORTANT

We wasted too much time on conceptual approaches instead of steering the whole process in one direction.

DESIGN NEEDS TIME

Time constraints prevented us from giving the design implementation the time and significance it needed

INVOLVE EVERYONE EFFECTIVELY

Involving each person in their strengths brings the added value and time efficiency that is necessary.

THE PROBLEM

Volunteer helpers in flood disasters are necessary
but rarely coordinated, as emergency forces are needed elsewhere.

THE STATUS QOU

There are concepts, but no exisiting solutions
that effectively prepares and supports volunteers
in flood disasters.

THE SOLOUTION

UnitedHands ensures that the deployment of volunteers is coordinated, simple and efficient, allowing them to share positive experiences.