In a world competing for people’s time and trust, digital experiences need to be thoughtfully designed to create lasting impact. How do we help people stick to their goals, build healthier habits, and drive meaningful outcomes in healthcare?
We partnered with the British Consulate-General Boston to explore how AI, digital coaching, personalisation, and data-driven insights are redefining patient care. Our incredible panel shared what’s working; from tackling adherence challenges to designing experiences that keep people coming back.
Panellists
- Lynnette Ang, Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer of Omniscope
- Greig Robinson, Head of Design at ustwo
- Shikha Anand, Co-founder of Zeph Technologies
- Moderator: Heidi Legg, writer and journalist
Key Takeaways
1. Digital coaching products must be doable, tunable and renewable to create lasting behaviour change
Greig shared ustwo’s framework for designing health tech that actually helps people change their behaviour – and stick with it:
Doable: Make it easy to start. If the barrier to entry is too high, people won’t even try.
Tunable: Personalisation is everything. The experience should adapt as people progress. AI can play a key role here.
Renewable: Keep it interesting. Give people a reason to return by serving up new, relevant content to help them stay consistent.
2. Personalisation at scale is now possible with AI
For the first time, AI is making it possible to personalise health experiences at scale – giving people support that feels tailored, without the need for one-to-one human coaching. As Greig noted:
"What AI is enabling us to do now is to think about how we can scale coaching services more effectively... making them more dynamic and adaptable to individuals."
However, personalisation goes beyond technology – it’s about accessibility and understanding the realities of people’s lives. If a recommendation doesn’t fit someone’s physical ability, financial situation, or access to resources, it won’t be effective.
"If you're asking someone to attend a gym, is a gym within close proximity to them? Can they afford a gym membership?"
Shikha Anand added to this, explaining how accessibility barriers can prevent meaningful change.
"Context is really important in behaviour change. Early in my career, I designed a fruit and vegetable prescription program for low-income families struggling to access healthy foods. If you don't know what's accessible to a person, you'll recommend things that aren't available to them. We see this happen clinically all the time."
3. Better health data leads to better interventions and outcomes
Lynnette Ang shared how Omniscope’s immune system data is providing new levels of precision, capturing a million T cells per sample, compared to the standard 10,000. This precision helps determine if treatments or vaccines are working effectively.
She shared a heartwarming story:
“A baby had a half-kilo tumour... she was classified as stage four. Nothing much could be done for her. We were able to use our technology to track the treatment. And today, after two years, she’s in remission.”
For chronic conditions, more precise tracking means earlier intervention. Shikha Anand highlighted how Zeph Technologies’ AI-powered cough detection could spot Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) flare-ups before they require emergency care, potentially saving $3,000+ per patient each year.
4. Community is a powerful motivator in health tech
Health products work best when they tap into people’s intrinsic motivation. Some people are driven by leaderboards and social recognition, while others prefer private progress tracking.
For COPD patients, community was the strongest motivator. Shikha shared:
“A lot of people suffer from social isolation…they don’t like to go to the grocery store because they have to bring their oxygen tank and people look at them. So building community was the first thing we tackled.”
Zeph Technologies' approach includes virtual rehabilitation sessions with therapists and other patients, creating an anchor point that keeps everyone engaged.
5. Design with diversity in mind from day one
All three speakers emphasised the need to consider diverse users from the start – whether it’s accessibility for people with disabilities or ensuring AI models don’t exclude certain groups.
“If you want your product to be useful for someone who’s visually impaired, you need to test with people who are visually impaired – and understand they’re not all one person.” – Shikha Anand, Co-founder of Zeph Technologies
Greig shared ustwo’s “pre-mortem” approach, where we deliberately catastrophise about everything that could go wrong before launching a product to ensure more inclusive, ethical design. It might sound chaotic, but it works!
Final Wrap-up
While technology keeps evolving, human-centered design remains key to creating health experiences that truly make a difference. The goal isn't just engagement for engagement's sake – it's about driving real change.
As Greig mentioned, AI’s biggest opportunity lies in preventative care:
“There is a huge opportunity for us to start living healthier lives, aided by technology that will have an enormous impact in the healthcare system.”
The biggest takeaway is that for the first time ever, we can personalise healthcare at scale, but only if we build AI responsibly with end users and healthcare professionals at the heart of the design process. This means bringing diverse perspectives to ensure we collectively design for everyone, not just the majority.
For the full conversation, watch the video above or visit our YouTube channel.
Let’s keep the conversation going
At ustwo, we’re embracing the potential of digital experiences to help people build healthier habits and drive real impact.
Want to chat more about digital coaching and designing for behaviour change? Get in touch at hello@ustwo.com.