Conducting effective user research with healthcare professionals (HCPs)

User research with healthcare professionals can be highly valuable, but it requires careful planning.

Clinicians, pharmacists and other medical specialists operate in demanding environments where time is scarce and responsibilities are significant. Their workflows are shaped by clinical priorities, regulatory constraints and organisational processes that can vary widely between institutions.

Because of this complexity, assumptions about how healthcare professionals behave often miss the mark. Digital products designed without direct input from HCPs frequently fail to fit naturally into clinical workflows or deliver meaningful value.

User research provides a way to understand these realities. By speaking directly with healthcare professionals and observing how they interact with digital tools, product teams can design experiences that align with the practical constraints of healthcare environments.

While many standard user research practices still apply, working with HCPs introduces several additional considerations.

Effective research begins with careful planning.

Before recruiting participants or scheduling sessions, it is important to confirm that healthcare professionals are the appropriate audience for the research question. In some cases the relevant insight may instead come from patients, caregivers or healthcare administrators.

If the research does involve clinicians or other HCPs, the study design should be carefully tailored to their working realities.

Healthcare professionals are often extremely time-poor. Long research sessions can discourage participation, particularly when clinicians are balancing clinical duties with administrative tasks. Keeping sessions concise and focused increases the likelihood of successful recruitment.

Technical constraints should also be considered. Some healthcare professionals access digital tools through secure hospital networks or specialist clinical devices that may restrict certain research platforms. Ensuring that research tools are compatible with these environments helps avoid disruption during sessions.

If in-person research is planned within hospitals or clinical environments, organisations may also need to ensure the appropriate approvals are in place before visiting healthcare sites.

A user research study is only as valuable as the participants who take part.

Healthcare professionals occupy a wide range of roles across different care settings. A consultant surgeon, a hospital pharmacist and a community nurse may all interact with the same therapeutic area in very different ways. Defining a clear participant profile at the outset is therefore critical.

Researchers should consider questions such as:

• Which clinical role is most relevant to the product being studied?
• Do participants need experience within a particular therapy area?
• Are there specific care settings or healthcare systems that matter?
• Should participants have prior experience with similar digital tools?

Narrowing the participant profile ensures that the insights generated during research reflect the realities of the intended users.

In healthcare research, one-to-one interviews generally produce more reliable insights than focus groups.

Focus groups can be useful for discussing broad topics or generating discussion between peers. However, they are less effective when the goal is to understand individual behaviours and decision-making processes.

Group dynamics can influence how participants respond. Senior clinicians may dominate conversations, while junior professionals may feel hesitant to challenge opinions or share alternative perspectives.

One-to-one research sessions remove many of these pressures. Participants often feel more comfortable speaking openly about their experiences, particularly when discussing challenges or frustrations with existing systems.

Individual sessions are also easier to schedule. Coordinating a group of busy healthcare professionals at the same time can be extremely difficult, whereas one-to-one sessions allow greater flexibility.

Recruiting healthcare professionals for research can be challenging due to their demanding schedules.

Extending session availability beyond standard working hours can significantly improve recruitment success. Offering sessions during lunch breaks or outside typical clinic hours often provides clinicians with greater flexibility.

Working with specialist recruitment partners can also help. Recruitment agencies experienced in healthcare research often maintain networks of healthcare professionals who are open to participating in studies.

Over time, organisations may also develop their own participant panels. Maintaining relationships with previous participants can make future recruitment easier, although it is important to avoid repeatedly using the same individuals to prevent bias in the research.

Participant incentives

Healthcare professionals are typically compensated for the time they spend participating in research.

Compensation reflects the value of their time and expertise. In many cases, consultant-level clinicians may receive incentives that reflect standard hourly consultancy rates.

Providing prompt reimbursement is also important. Clear communication around incentives helps build trust with participants and ensures the research process respects their time commitments.

Running research sessions with healthcare professionals often requires balancing curiosity with humility.

Researchers may not be experts in the clinical topics being discussed, and this is perfectly acceptable. In fact, approaching the conversation from a position of curiosity can encourage participants to explain their experiences in greater detail.

At the start of each session it can be helpful to acknowledge that the participant is the expert in their field. Clarifying that the researcher is there to learn from their experience helps establish a collaborative tone.

Medical terminology can also present challenges. Researchers should familiarise themselves with key concepts where possible, but they should not hesitate to ask participants to clarify unfamiliar terms or acronyms.

Healthcare professionals are usually accustomed to explaining complex concepts to colleagues or patients. Asking for clarification often leads to richer insights.

Respecting time constraints

Healthcare professionals often participate in research during short breaks between clinical responsibilities.

Starting sessions on time and keeping discussions focused helps ensure the conversation fits within the agreed timeframe. If additional questions arise towards the end of the session, it is important to ask whether the participant is comfortable extending the conversation before continuing.

Respecting these constraints demonstrates professionalism and encourages participants to remain engaged throughout the research process.

Healthcare professionals play a central role in the adoption of many digital health tools.

If a platform disrupts clinical workflows, requires unnecessary effort or fails to provide meaningful value, clinicians are unlikely to use it regardless of how sophisticated the technology may be.

User research provides an opportunity to understand these practical realities before products are launched. By observing how healthcare professionals work and listening to their experiences, organisations can design digital tools that integrate more naturally into clinical practice.

In highly complex healthcare environments, this insight can make the difference between a product that becomes part of everyday practice and one that quietly disappears.