The ability for healthcare workers to make split-second decisions with the help of visual cues could mean life or death for a patient. This means, then, in an emergency situation, what visual cues can enable healthcare workers to make those split-second decisions on behalf of the patient?
Olle Torgny, a designer in Sweden, is part of a project that aims to answer that question. In his words [1. all images are from Olle Torgny’s website]:
How could medical personnel see in a glance if a patient would need special treatment?
In the course of his work, he and his project team are proposing the following familiar symbol as a visual cue regarding emergency patient needs:
I think the undertaking is fascinating and the potential to save human lives is immense. But, I’m curious about whether or not the visual cue will be effective in doing so. Here are my concerns:
The symbol is a six sided star – a familiar star found in healthcare. The top half of the star generally represents “emergency” and the bottom half of the star generally represents “observe”. But, there are permutations of the six sides that can become confusing and violates the “in a glance” principle in visual management.
Mathematically, if we have 6 sides and that means there are potentially 6^6 permutations, each of which has its own meaning.
There could be 6^6 permutations
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If I’m correct in my assumption, then I’m not sure if this visual cue will be helpful or add clarity in emergency situations. It might add unnecessary complexity.
It’s Your Turn
What do you think? If I’m right (and I could be very wrong in my assumptions), then do you think this symbol would add clarity or confusion in emergency situations?
I wonder if healthcare workers – doctors and physicians – have tested whether this symbol is helpful to them. After all, healthcare workers are the consumers of this symbol and the beneficiary is the patient.
While I appreciate the work that went into this it seems like it could be an overwhelming amount of information for split second decisions. I’d rather see a set of boxes with boxes with a red, yellow, green system or something like that. If you see red, you would probably do the same thing you’d do with the star: research. All green, and you are good to go.
On a related note: very recently, a friend’s daughter was in the ICU with a serious and urgent condition awaiting a complicated surgery. The morning of the surgery, she was given pain meds in error. Since it could conflict with the anesthesia she had to postpone the surgery another day. I’m not a doctor or a nurse but it seems like some sort of simple visual cue could have reduced the likelihood of this happening.
way too symmetrical. Wouldn’t want to accidentally read it upside down or sideways.