Case study · Project delivery

How to talk about data without talking about data

Understanding Patient DataWellcome TrustDiscovery and service design
The client

Understanding Patient Data was a Wellcome Trust team working to make the use of NHS patient data more visible, understandable and trustworthy.

The brief

Information about patient data can feel abstract and disconnected from what people care about. The project explored when, during a person’s healthcare journey, it would be useful to explain how health data is used, and what those explanations could look like.

What we made
  • Research with healthcare professionals and members of the public
  • An ecosystem map showing how patients and professionals interact with health data
  • A redesigned blood-test results letter explaining how research using health records had contributed to the result
  • A waiting-room video prototype explaining how patient data is collected, used and protected
  • Testing insights on when information improved understanding and when it raised questions that needed further support
My role

I worked as project manager across the project. I managed stakeholders, kept up regular client check-ins, and made sure the work stayed on schedule and within budget.

The project produced two public-facing prototypes and a service map to support future work on clearer communication about patient data.