FlashBuild: Rapid, Patient-Partnered Co-Design for Safer Healthcare Systems

Abstract

Co-design is increasingly recognized as essential for developing safe, usable, and effective healthcare interventions. However, traditional approaches are often time- and resource-intensive, limiting their feasibility in fast-paced healthcare environments. We introduce FlashBuild, a rapid, patient-partnered co-design method designed to produce actionable outputs within real-world constraints. FlashBuild consists of three structured sessions conducted over approximately three weeks, engaging patients, clinicians, subject matter experts, and researchers in iterative cycles of problem framing, solution generation, prototyping, and refinement. Grounded in human factors engineering and sociotechnical systems thinking, the method emphasizes real-time prototyping, shared ownership, and practical application. FlashBuild provides a structured and feasible approach to embedding patient perspectives into healthcare design.