1) Pick a segment.
The segment I picked are the caretakers, legal guardians or parents and case managers of clients who have severe mental and learning disabilities. The reason I chose this segment is because I have experienced the difficulties they encounter while taking the clients to visit the doctor.
2) Interviews.
Employee of a group home: while talking to the caretaker of a client, he described the steps he must follow when bringing the client to the office and how difficult it is. Sometimes just the simple task of getting them in the car could take up to 20 minutes.
Parents of a 30-year-old client with intellectual disabilities: when talking to them, they described their daughter as easy going and easy to manage at home. But when it comes to leave their house, they got to have special precautions as she easily gets anxious and irritated. So, they try to avoid crowded places and doctors’ appointments must be done at early so they can be in and out.
Case manager with the mother of a child with autism: when speaking to them, they talk about a routine that must be follow daily, from always eating and going to the bathroom at the same times. One interesting detail they discussed was that they must avoid other children, because the client becomes violent.
5) Summary of what I learned in the interviews.
As someone who works in healthcare, I realized that there is a great need for an alternative to conventional medical services. People who are involved taking care of people with special needs, struggle daily to meet the client’s needs. Also, because the way medical offices are run, they often cannot accommodate to their needs like giving them a grace period or having rooms where the client won’t be under so much stress.
6) Conclusion.
After conducting the interviews and talking to others who might benefit from the services I proposed. This alternative will give caretakers time flexibility to complete the responsibilities it takes to care for a patient with mental disabilities.
Hey Herzen,
ReplyDeleteI believe all three of your interviews were of appropriate candidates to find out more about the potential success of your product. I never thought of the struggles other people might have when taking people with disabilities to the doctor. If you can make your healthcare service become popular amongst these people, it will succeed and have the chance to grow outwards to other demographics as well.
Herzen,
ReplyDeleteI understand the difficulties of caretakers my grandmother had Alzheimer's and couldn't do anything by herself. We had a caretaker for literally 12 hours everyday. having a service to specialize in a person's disabilities would have unmeasured benefits for that person. for example the 30 year old who gets easily uncomfortable outside of her house could do house calls with the doctor and had the same caretakers would have a much better time getting treatment.