Dermanaut was formed because we knew some dermatologists who were absolutely frustrated with the lackluster electronic medical record options available to them. We vowed to build an application that would be usable by human beings and not require months of training to become proficient with. Furthermore, we made it our goal to make an application that met their needs with no customization required.

To achieve this, we have set out to understand you, the potential user of our product. You see, understanding is the only way we can provide a solution that truly meets your needs. Below, I will describe a series of activities that we have used regularly to continually grow our understanding of dermatology. This methodology is one I learned while working as a High-Tech Anthropologist at the award-winning software firm Menlo Innovations.

Observations of existing processes
It’s no secret, people learn better through experience. It’s also commonly accepted that if you ask someone about a routine of theirs, they will oversimplify their answer and often completely neglect to mention key steps in the process. To combat this, the most important tool in understanding I have is to simply observe existing practices that my software will supplant. Translated into English, this means that we follow around the prospective users and witness first-hand the tasks and challenges they encounter in a given day as they actually happen.

For Dermanaut, we were fortunate enough to actually put on a lab coat and followed dermatologists around on their daily activities. We got blank copies of all forms filled out at a number of different dermatology clinics. We watched as medical assistants went about their daily routines and we even tracked who was touching the patient record throughout the day. These observations occurred in several clinics (some using paper-based and others using electronic medical records systems) over the course of several months.

As we developed a deeper understanding and internalization of the process we confirmed exactly what we were seeing through discussions with various medical personnel. The pinnacle of this was building a model of the life of patient records and how they fit into the practice of dermatology. Far beyond memorization of requirement requests, we were able to truly understand the challenges of the structure and work flow for any record system based on what we witnessed first-hand. Thus, we were able to develop a more sophisticated solution for how our application can better meet your needs.

Interviews
Second only to observation, interviews with actual dermatologists and dermatology professionals (medical assistants, office staff, etc) are an invaluable tool for understanding. The simple act of listening to what works and what doesn’t work with other existing systems is more meaningful to a designer than reading all the market research reports in the world. This is exactly why I post my email address and phone number on all emails I send out. At Dermanaut, we want to hear what you have to say! It is common sense, but if we can talk to 5 dermatologists about what they need, chances are my EMR is going to suit those (and all) dermatologists better than if we were guessing what they wanted.

Weekly design and development assessments
Every week that we have produced new designs (paper mock-ups of what the software will look like and what it will do) or written actual code we have shown this progress to at least one dermatologist. We do this to constantly confirm that we understood correctly what we saw and heard through our observations and interviews and that we are interpreting that correctly via solutions in our software. Additionally, we are gaining confidence in our product as a viable solution to record keeping in dermatology.

An added benefit is it becomes increasingly difficult to stray too far from the core requirements of our application when potential users are continually critiquing our developing product based on their primary needs. This layer of verification is just one of our many important methods of transparency (which we will talk more about in a later blog post).

Conferences (lectures, workshops, etc)
Dermanaut has regularly attended the Annual American Academy of Dermatology Meetings since 2007. We did not have a booth, but instead attended talks, workshops, and everything related to EMR and dermatology. We ask questions when we wanted to know more. We answered questions when we had useful information. And we even brought up challenging issues when we felt that dermatologists best interests were not being served.

You see, Dermanaut sees itself as a member of the dermatology community not simply a vendor. Everyone knows EMR is coming, but there are far too many hurdles to make it effective yet. Rather than trying to be opportunistic amidst the confusion, we want to be an advocate for good electronic medical recordkeeping in dermatology. To borrow an economic phrase,a rising tide floats all boats. By participating in the dialog of EMR in dermatology, we can only further improve our understanding of what dermatologists need and ultimately, build a better solution for you.

Closing thoughts…
A great strength in our process is our commitment to communication and transparency. You can see how our desire for understanding and our methodology for gaining that understanding is all about the interaction between you, the user, and me, the software designer. I will again encourage you to contact us with any feedback you have about what you’ve read, anything about your experiences in the field of dermatology, or anything EMR related. As always, feel free to email me and let me know what you think!

Thank you,
Jon Baugh
CEO and Co-Founder of Dermanaut
jon@dermanaut.com