Better Future - Health - Sean Carney

When we think of design, healthcare is not usually the first thing that comes to our mind. Fortunately, this is not the case for everyone – take for example, Sean Carney, Chief Design Officer & GM Business Leader Healthcare at Philips.

Two years ago in Hong Kong, Sean dropped a bombshell to me… In a discussion about design awards (with Philips receiving recognition for several devices at the time), Sean offered a remarkable insight: when Philips wins an award for a device they are only just starting to scratch the surface. The invaluable gains in patient experience, clinician workflow, and hospital efficiency comes when the focus moves to the care systems – from pre-admission, through to time in care and post-care.

It stands to reason that having a flow of information with a systems design approach is going to aid the patient, avoid duplication and create efficiency. What engaged me was Sean’s passionate discussion, this wasn’t a marketing talking point, it was present in his soul, he was living it.

Recently Philips was awarded in the Berlin Design Awards. The IntelliVue X3, a systems driven patient monitor that follows the patient, providing continuous monitoring of vital signs and providing continuous input to the clinical decision systems that make an efficient hospital operate.

It is this, somewhat niche, focus on systems thinking in the health sector which makes Sean Carney a remarkable global leader in the expedition towards a better future.