From Framework to Practice: Designing a Real-World Telehealth Application for Palliative Care

TL;DR

This paper details the design of a telehealth application for palliative care that integrates technical robustness, human-centered values, and real-world usability through a multidisciplinary co-design process.

Contribution

It introduces a socio-technical framework for developing telehealth solutions that balance quality, human values, and practical clinical needs.

Findings

The application is secure, equitable, and resilient.

The co-design process improved usability and clinical relevance.

The framework supports iterative refinement and stakeholder engagement.

Abstract

As digital health solutions continue to reshape healthcare delivery, telehealth software applications have become vital for improving accessibility, continuity of care, and patient outcomes. This paper presents an analysis of designing a software application focused on Enhanced Telehealth Capabilities (ETHC) for palliative care, integrating across three socio-technical dimensions: quality, human values, and real-world. Designing for quality attributes -- such as performance, maintainability, safety, and security -- ensured that the system is technically robust and compliant with clinical standards. Designing for human values -- empathy, inclusivity, accessibility, and transparency -- helped enhance patient experience, trust, and ethical alignment. Designing for real-world -- through a multidisciplinary, experience-based co-design approach involving clinicians, patients, and carers that guided iterative cycles of prototyping, usability testing, and real-world evaluation -- ensured continuous refinement of features and alignment with clinical practice. The resulting telehealth software solution demonstrated that our socio-technical design framework was successful in producing a secure, equitable, and resilient digital health application. Our design approach can assist others designing software in health and other domains.