UNDERSTANDING OUR STAKEHOLDERS
INSIGHTS INTO THE VENTILATOR JOURNEY
Research Interviews were conducted with Biomedical Engineers to understand the ventilator journey.
Who initiates it? By what method? Role of BME-Doctors in this? | Demo process? Is there a demo every time? -If a new company give a quotation, then what? Who all are present in the demo? -On what parameters do you judge a quotation? | Composition, some names of people - BME involvement in this? - Who has a higher say in this procedure? | When order final then how are the documents sent to the distributor/company? Who are they in touch with the company? And how email or call? | Is company preferred because of the relations or the process is repeated every time? Like when was this last done and how many ventilators were purchase? | What are your views on the current process? Does it need some changes? | Documents involved in this process from the beginning till the order. Where are they maintained?
SHIPMENT > HANDOVER > TRAINING
Who delivers the products? | How do they deliver? Self-delivery or third party? | What is the procedure of unboxing after delivery? | Who is present from the hospital and the company? What if there's a problem with a part? Paperwork involved in this transfer of device to the hospital. | Internally how is the device handed over to the respective department? |   Who maintains these records? Where are they stored and how? | How is the warranty document, quality test certificate, Installation Certificate maintained and where? | Do you feel a problem with this process? | How long does it take? Is there something that could be done to reduce it? | What apps are you familiar with for e.g. FB, Insta etc. Which phone are you using currently? Do you use any medical or your hospital related app? How easy/difficult is it for you? | When is the training conducted? Who all are present in the training? Is there a different training for different roles?  | What if someone is absent on that day how is that person taught? | Apart from the BMEs, Doctors, Nurses who get involved with a ventilator in its lifetime?
USAGE AND TROUBLESHOOTING
How often you encounter a ventilator? |  How often is a pre-use check done?  | How long does it take? | Best features of this ventilator? | What features you aren't using and which ones you are? | Knob on patient monitor vs knob + touch on the ventilator? | How is it done during emergencies?  | When a problem arises, what is the protocol?  | Most common Problems? |   Is there a troubleshooting mechanism in the device or of the hospital? Can any defects be caught with the help of the device? | Who reaches out to the company? | How long the company takes to resolve the problem? |   Is a standby provided in case they take away the ventilator?  | If a new part is required what is the process? Who does this? How is this record maintained?  | In general, which how many consumables are ordered regularly? Maybe weekly or biweekly? | Most used consumables in your hospital? | Which ones are tough to find? How do you approach such things?
SERVICING
How do you know a device needs to be serviced because different people handle different machines? And different parts of different machines have a different lifetime. | What is the servicing procedure? | How is the service request raised and to whom? | How many stakeholders are internally involved in this? | Who takes the final call if the problem can be resolved, or you need company's assistance? | Is there a service log? How is it filled and maintained?  | If the company comes to service, how long do they take to acknowledge you complain? What happens to the machine in the meantime? | For which device/company is the acknowledge time minimum? Why is so? | Are you happy with the current process or you have some problem?
KEY INSIGHTS
The ventilator being an ICU device the purchase is need based. The brand value ofthe medical device plays a vital role while deciding which ventilator to purchase. The distributors and channel partners are catalysts to ensure the smooth process of purchase and offer post sales services too.
The documentation is done physically, documents are filed for each device and stored. Documentation has not being made ddigital as users are not comfortable and fear errors or data loss. The training for the ventilators should be short and the users should be adapt to the new product quickly.
If any issue arrise in the ventilator, BME’s are consulted. BME’s analyse the issue and contact the distributor or channel partner. The post sales experience has been poor and thus the end users are unhappy. The company’s reputation is at stake.
The service for the machines is done on site or the machine needs to be bought back to the company. Incase of part replacements it takes 3-4 days. The documentation is done physically and leads to incomplete documents and high chances of human error.
Research Interviews were conducted with Biomedical Engineers and Distributors to understand the how the OTA updates works, Subscriptions and Demo Mode.
OTA UPDATES
The internet connectivity in ICU’s is through LAN or WiFi? | How are your current products updated? | How is the ventilator's firmware and software updated? | Have you updated any ventilator online? | How long does an update take? Please explain in brief. | What are your views on the process? Can something be done to improve it? | It would be helpful if you could share your experience with updating a product (Ventilator). This will deepen our undersatnding about the pain points and thus enhance the process.
SUBSCRIPTION
What do you think of the expandable modules provided by Ventilators companies? | Have you bought any? Why? | Any other device offers expandable modules? Do you buy it? | What are the factors affect the purchase of these modules?
DEMO MODE
What is the ventilator demo procedure? | Short demo/Long Demos? | What is the maximum days a demo can last? | Does the distributor offer you to buy the Demo device? | What is your opinion on the demo process? | Anything that we can do to improve it?
KEY INSIGHTS
When the ventilator needs to be updated, its a physical process. This process is a time consuming process. Over the air updates is a new concept not adapted by any of the new ventilators. Apprehensive about the software installation.
Demo’s are conducted by the company engineers. The demo’s are of short duration. There are no quick tours to understand new features or its usage. Having quicktours or tutorials becomes an anytime guide for the user.
Machine that leverage a wide spectrum of features are preffered. Usually machines that allow using advanced features are chosen. But if its a must then extra modules are subscribed too.
Research Interviews were conducted with Doctors and Nurses to understand the Product usage and Features.
PRODUCT USAGE
What ventilators are you currently using? | How long does it take to train-get familiar with a ventilator? | What is the average lifetime of a ventilator?
ALARMS
What is the time required for mute? | SOPs for alarms? | How frequently are the alarms muted? | How often do you refer to the alarm lamp? | How is its visibility? | If not present in their ventilator then how is this happening in their devices? | Does it cause any irritation? | What are you views on highlighting the parameter related to a certain alarm?
MANEUVERS
How frequently O2 boost used and its clinical importance? | What type of timers are you familiar while using Nebulizer, O2 Boost or Holds? | What is the default timer timer and how much do you think from your experience is necessary? | How important is Manual Breath feature?
ADVANCED FEATURES AND VENTILATION SETTINGS
What all additional features do you use? | How are these additional features leveraged to the user (Subscription based or paid modules) | Is the hardware compatible or not | Is there any additional feature you would like the ventilator to have looking at the current dynamics | How important are these to you? | How often do you use them? | Do you find them helpful? | What happens currently when there is ATC? Is there any indicator given-expected?
GRAPHS AND VIEW SETTINGS
How often do you use the loop freeze/graph freeze functions? | What is the purpose or function of using this feature? | Are you familiar with th dynamic lung feature? | Does the dynamic lung provide any clinical value to analyse the patients health? | What all parameters do you like to be included in the dynamic lung?
MORE SETTINGS
What all information from the events history is insightful? | How frequently do you use the patient history or trend feature? | How often do you use these? | How do you transfer the data? Do you watch the records after transfering the data? | What is the number of screenshots and screen records that you prefer?
MODES AND PARAMETRS
Most common diseases and the modes for them? | What is the criteria that you follow to decide when to change a mode? | How many times on an average is the mode changed for a patient? | What are the monitored parameters that matter the most? | Do they vary according to the mode? | Do you want to see all the monitored parameters together?
KEY INSIGHTS
Alarms play a vital role in prompt decisions hence the visual and auido indicators play a important role. These should be visible and audible from a distance. Standards should be followed to avoid confusions. Fake alarms should be avoided as its disturbing.
The modes that are very frequently used shoukd be easily accessible to start ventilation immediately incase of emergency.
The views are generally customized as per doctors preference and the type of patients. In neonatal loops play an imporatnt and help generate insights. Customization helps users modifty according to their needs.
Additional features are not used very frequently but should be easy to navigate and use. Maneuvers are used often and should be easy tolocate