Návrh a ověření inovace komunikace v pediatrické praxi metodou Design Thinking

The master’s thesis focuses on the application of the Design Thinking method to improve communication between a general practitioner for children and adolescents (PLDD) and the parent of a child patient within outpatient pediatric practice. The thesis places this topic in the context of the structural crisis of the Czech PLDD field, where the demographic ageing of physicians and the declining number of practices create demand for process innovations capable of increasing the efficiency of day-to-day outpatient operations. The main objective of the thesis is to identify, analyze, and validate opportunities for improving communication and related processes through the five-stage Design Thinking model developed by the d.school institute (Empathize – Define – Ideate – Prototype – Test). In the Empathize phase, twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted: six with PLDD physicians and six with parents of child patients. The findings were processed using thematic analysis and synthesized through an affinity diagram, Point-of-View statements, and How-Might-We questions.The analysis revealed four key pain points: the recurring administrative and documentation burden on physicians caused by the manual collection of anamnesis data, the loss of information during the verbal communication of discharge instructions, the systematic unpreparedness of parents for consultations, and the fragmentation of information in families with shared parental care. Based on the evaluation of eighteen alternative concepts generated through brainwriting, an integrated digital communication tool was selected and prototyped in Claude Design. The tool consists of three functional layers: a pre-visit form for parents, a post-visit summary, and a mechanism for sharing consultation outputs with multiple caregivers. Moderated user testing with five testers (three PLDD physicians and two parents) demonstrated a high level of comprehensibility (average score of 4.8/5), perceived relevance, and willingness to try the tool in real practice. At the same time, the testing generated specific recommendations for the next iteration, particularly the expansion of the pre-visit form, proactive communication regarding data protection, the addition of actionable instructions to the post-visit summary, and integration with existing practice management software. The contribution of the thesis lies in an empirically grounded proposal for a process innovation that addresses structurally conditioned shortcomings in communication during pediatric consultations and has been validated with real users. The thesis also contributes to connecting insights from innovation management with the specific characteristics of primary pediatric care in the Czech context.