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Reimagining the Emergency Department Experience

Lifepoint Health

LifePoint Health is a network of 89 hospitals in 30 states serving growing regions, rural communities, and small towns across America. Their leadership team approached LIFT to help gain a deeper understanding of the consumers who utilized their Emergency Department (ED), specifically in relation to the role real-time wait time clocks played in influencing consumer behavior as well as how consumers distinguished between ED and Urgent Care cases. While effective when wait times were low, these clocks actually eroded loyalty and provided inconsistent consumer experiences when wait times were high.

Lifepoint partnered with LIFT to help shed light on how these wait time clocks adversely impacted consumer behavior with the ED service line, with the goal of increasing qualified ED admissions. To accomplish this, LIFT hosted a design-thinking workshop with LifePoint’s corporate marketing team that leveraged design-thinking to help shape marketing and content strategies for the ED service-line across their hospital brands.

Objectives

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Explore how Lifepoint’s real-time ED wait time clocks influence consumer decisions, impact loyalty, and contribute to potential misuse during urgent care or high wait time scenarios.
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Develop strategies to guide consumers to the right care setting by clarifying when to choose the ED versus urgent care, improving patient routing and outcomes.
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Apply design thinking to create marketing and content strategies that reflect real patient needs, expectations, and experiences across LifePoint’s brands.
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Align marketing to promote informed, confident use of emergency services—reducing confusion and frustration during urgent care-seeking moments.

Goal

The primary goal of this study was to increase the number of qualified ED admissions for the client. This was accomplished through better consumer education and empowerment around their choices when facing an emergency medical situation.

Method

Through the lens of design-thinking, Lifepoint created messaging that engaged, educated, and activated potential ED patients—specifically targeting individuals whose condition could be treated in an urgent care setting at the moment they encounter the content. They also utilized consumer outreach and engagement to promote increased consumer understanding of the types of conditions treated in urgent care and those needing emergency services..

Personas were developed to help LifePoint see their brand—and specifically the ED service line—through the eyes of real consumers. These profiles revealed that the patient experience was far more complex than initially assumed. Personas allowed the team to connect with the emotional and practical realities consumers face.

Journey maps were created to trace what consumers go through at different stages of their healthcare journey, with a focus on emergency situations. These tools uncovered key moments of confusion, urgency, and vulnerability—highlighting where the brand could better support and guide them.

Deliverables

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Consumer education initiative to promote healthier communities
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Clinical access hotline
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Consumer survey
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Interactive iPad-based content delivery systems at points of care
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Experience-based guidance tool for real-time education
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“When in Doubt” creative campaign
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Bedside manner and consumer interaction training for staff
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Toolkit for moms and household managers (first aid, safety, etc.)
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Real-time experience awareness tools
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Quiz-style educational campaign
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Emergency game plan tailored to individuals and families
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On-site educational infographics
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In-hospital artifacts to guide and inform during visits
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Care delivery in safe, accessible community locations (home, church, etc.)

Outcome

This study identified critical opportunities to engage consumers with content that is not only timely but personally relevant. These moments occur outside the ED setting—at home, at work, or while caring for others—highlighting the importance of meeting people where they are, both physically and emotionally, before they enter the ED. We also found it helpful to mobilize internal stakeholders to become advocates for the LifePoint ED experience in the community by equipping them with information to share with consumers.

Following the study, we partnered to develop a strategic framework for human-centric marketing that aligned with real consumer needs, expectations, and decision-making moments within the care journey related to urgent and emergency medical situations. This included several prototype concepts designed to be scalable across LifePoint’s diverse markets, all aimed at increasing the volume of well-qualified ED admissions through more relevant, timely, and human-centered content.

  • Design Studio
  • Web Application
  • Billboard
  • Out Of Home Signage
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