Jorge Daniel Teixeira

Abstract

Abstract
Background: Health Information Systems (HIS), and especially Electronic Health Records (EHR), offer great promise. However, the true benefits of HIS and EHR are more elusive as research shows they have obtained mixed results across countries. To increase the success of these systems while creating value for healthcare professionals, research emphasizes the importance of involving clinical users in the design of HIS. Objective: Following calls for interdisciplinary research and increased end-user participation in HIS development, this paper shows how a service design approach can support the successful development and implementation of national EHRs. Service design brings a human-centered, participatory, holistic, creative and visual approach to HIS development, through an iterative process of exploration, ideation, reflection and implementation, fostering stakeholder participation and co-creation of the solution. Method: This paper presents an in-depth case study of the Portuguese National EHR development and implementation following a service design approach. The study involved individual and group interviews, as well as participatory design workshops with more than 170 participants along the different stages of exploration, ideation, reflection and implementation. Results: The service design approach, including the visual models and tools used across the different design stages, was instrumental to envision new EHR concepts and design the system to enhance healthcare users experience. A qualitative study performed after implementation showed that the EHR was considered useful and easy to use, and these results are backed by widespread usage of the system. Discussion and conclusion: This paper shows how a service design approach can address key challenges in EHR development. By adopting a holistic perspective, service design broadens the scope of EHR development to understand its broader service system and position it to enable value creation with users. The human-centered, participatory, creative, visual and holistic approach supports the understanding of user needs and context, and their active involvement in the design and co-creation effort. This service design approach fosters user adoption at the implementation stage. Service design can thus contribute to the successful development and implementation of EHRs. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.

Abstract
Purpose: Service design is a multidisciplinary approach that plays a key role in fostering service innovation. However, the lack of a comprehensive understanding of its multiple perspectives hampers this potential to be realized. Through an activity theory lens, the purpose of this paper is to examine core areas that inform service design, identifying shared concerns and complementary contributions. Design/methodology/approach: The study involved a literature review in two stages, followed by a qualitative study based on selected focus groups. The first literature review identified core areas that contribute to service design. Based on this identification, the second literature review examined 135 references suggested by 13 world-leading researchers in this field. These references were qualitatively analyzed using the NVivo software. Results were validated and complemented by six multidisciplinary focus groups with service research centers in five countries. Findings: Six core areas were identified and characterized as contributing to service design: service research, design, marketing, operations management, information systems and interaction design. Data analysis shows the various goals, objects, approaches and outcomes that multidisciplinary perspectives bring to service design, supporting them to enable service innovation. Practical implications: This paper supports service design teams to better communicate and collaborate by providing an in-depth understanding of the multiple contributions they can integrate to create the conditions for new service. Originality/value: This paper identifies and examines the core areas that inform service design, their shared concerns, complementarities and how they contribute to foster new forms of value co-creation, building a common ground to advance this approach and leverage its impact on service innovation. © 2019, Maíra Prestes Joly, Jorge Grenha Teixeira, Lia Patrício and Daniela Sangiorgi.

Abstract
Purpose Service design is a multidisciplinary approach that is key to service innovation, as it brings new service ideas to life. In this context, the development of new service design methods and models for creating new service futures is an important stream of service design research. Such developments can benefit from a systematized research methodology that builds on existing knowledge and robustly evaluates the suitability of research contributions. To address this challenge, the purpose of this paper is to present design science research (DSR), an established methodology from the information systems field, and examine how it can be useful for service design research by supporting the development of new artifacts, such as service design constructs, methods and models. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents DSR and related literature and shows how DSR can support service design research through a step-by-step approach. A methodology to develop prescriptive-driven solutions for classes of problems, DSR can support service design research in developing rigorous and relevant research. One illustrative example of a service design research effort using the DSR approach is presented. Findings Building on DSR's robust methodological background, this paper discusses how DSR can support service design research, namely, through the development of new methods and models, and how DSR can be adapted to leverage service design research participatory, iterative, human-centric and creative approach. Originality/value This paper provides an overview of DSR and proposes it as a methodology to conduct service design research, offering step-by-step guidance on the application of DSR in service design research and discussing how it can be adapted according to the specific characteristics of service design research and drive future research.

Abstract