Service Design: Melin Medicals T1 and T2

Melin Medicals is a payment service for health services via a payment terminal that is aimed at all users. It also facilitates the work of doctors and clinical staff. The solution was developed based on lead user surveys and through cooperation with organisations such as the Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted. The terminal is connected to an underlying ‘patient cloud’ with integrated solutions to access information such as medical records. The company aims to develop a range of complete solutions for GP practices.  

The payment service is extremely functional with a good interface for both health personnel and patients. It is sympathetic towards users with different types of challenges, i.e. a busy doctor who does not want any more systems or patients with poor eyesight, wheelchair users, or those who cannot pay. The system is automated and simple, thus enabling valuable time to be spent on the patient.  

Several types of shelf products, put together by Melin Medical, are combined on the actual terminal and, in some cases, more products are included to best serve the patient. The screen-based user interface is simple and intuitive.  Everyone accesses the solution in the same way, but changes are then made as the system is adapted to each user. Examples of adaptations are: colour codes; font size and number size; high contrast mode; and voice sensors for speech detection. The solution therefore has a multi-modal interface and error tolerance – two important criteria of universal design. This is a complete service proposal with huge potential to positively impact the Norwegian healthcare system.   

In a self-service society, the Melin Medical payment service is a prime example of how one can give the feeling of control back to people. The designers and business developers have gone further than simply fulfilling the minimum requirements of universal design. They have used existing systems and included aspects to create an ingenious and complete solution.  

The jury would also like to commend an additional service, namely the integration of ethical debt collection. The decision is passed to the doctor, who can stop or extend deadlines according to a personal, individual assessment.  

Melin Medical has demonstrated strong growth from a turnover of NOK 1 million to NOK 70 million in two years. The jury commends the designers for using universal design as an important and stimulating success factor during the innovation process. This is a perfect example of how universal design can pay off. Melin Medical has a huge potential in the future.