This book examines the nature of service design and service thinking in healthcare and hospital management. By adopting both a service-based provider perspective and a consumer-oriented perspective, the book highlights various healthcare services, methods and tools that are desirable for customers and effective for healthcare providers. In addition, readers will learn about new research directions, as well as strategies and innovations to develop service solutions that are affordable, sustainable, and consumer-oriented. Lastly, the book discusses policy options to improve the service delivery process and customer satisfaction in the healthcare and hospital sector.

The contributors cover various aspects and fields of application of service design and service thinking, including service design processes, tools and methods; service blueprints and service delivery; creation and implementation of services; interaction design and user experience; design of service touchpointsand service interfaces; service excellence and service innovation. The book will appeal to all scholars and practitioners in the hospital and healthcare sector who are interested in organizational development, service business model innovation, customer involvement and perceptions, and service experience.

Prof. Dr. Mario A. Pfannstiel is a researcher and lecturer in the field of healthcare service management at the University of Applied Sciences in Neu-Ulm, Germany. He is the program director of the Digital Healthcare Management Master's program. His current research interests focus on innovative services, service design, service business model innovation, artificial intelligence in healthcare service delivery and innovation and technology management.

Christoph Rasche is the Chair of Professional&Corporate Services at the University of Potsdam, Germany. Professor Rasche teaches strategic and general management in national and international MBA programs with a special focus on the healthcare and hospital industry. His main research areas are strategic and general management in the healthcare& hospital sector, which is currently experiencing an era of professional value creation based on a strong management and leadership focus.

Preface.- Service Design as a Transformational Driver Toward Person-centered Care in Healthcare (Lisa Malmberg, Vanessa Rodrigues, Linda Lännerström, Katarina Wetter-Edman, Josina Vink, Stefan Holmlid).- Changing the Rules of the Game in Healthcare Through Service Design (Josina Vink, Maíra Prestes Joly, Katarina Wetter-Edman, Bård Tronvoll, Bo Edvardsson).- Using Small-Step Service Design Thinking to Create and Implement Services that Improve Patient Care (Brenda Gleason, Jennifer Bohn).- Service Innovation by Patient-Centric Innovation Processes (Christophe Vetterli, Corinne Scherrer).- Service Design During the Later Development Phases: Introducing a Service Design Roadmapping Approach (Frida Almqvist).- Innovation in Service Design Thinking (Lesley A. Clack, Rachel L. Ellison).- The Use of Tangible Tools as a Means to Support Co-design During Service Design Innovation Projects in Healthcare (Karianne Rygh, Simon Clatworthy).- Investigating the In-betweeness of Service Design Practitioners in Healthcare (Jonathan Romm, Josina Vink).- Service Design Empowering Innovative Communities Within Healthcare (Stuart G. Bailey, Karen L. Bell, Hans Hartung).- A Design Perspective on Future Healthcare Services for the Home Environment (Geke D. S. Ludden, Anna Vallgårda).- Co-creative Service Design in Municipal Health Services: Reflections and Lessons Learned from a Design Education Perspective (Marikken Høiseth).- Evaluating Co-Production in Mental Health Services as a Support for Co-Design Activities (Francesca Foglieni, Federica Segato, Daniela Sangiorgi, Marta Carrera).- Strategic Design Abilities for Integrated Care Innovation (Rafael Canales Durón, Lianne Simonse, Maaike Kleinsmann).- Designing the Function of Health Technology Assessment as a Support for Hospital Management (Gabriele Palozzi, Camilla Falivena, Antonio Chirico).- It Takes More than A Village-Leveraging Globalized Information, Knowledge and Resources to Design Services Tailored to an Accountable Health Community for Mental Health (Patricia Alafaireet, Howard Houghton).- Redefining Touchpoints: An Integrated Approach for Implementing Omnichannel Service Concepts (Juha Kronqvist, Teemu Leinonen).- Mapping an Ambient Assisted Living Service as a Seamful Cross-channel Ecosystem (Bertil Lindenfalk, Andrea Resmini).- 4D Wireframing as a Tool for Integrating Digital with Physical Touchpoints for an Elevated Patient Experience (Florian Vollmer).- Managing Complex Patient Journeys in Healthcare (Ragnhild Halvorsrud, Annette Lund Lillegaard, Mette Røhne and Andreas Momme Jensen).- Design for Social Innovation as Designing for Service: The Case of Active Aging in Brazil (Carla Cipolla, Maíra Prestes Joly, Beatriz Watanabe, Fernanda Benevides Zanela, Márcia Fernandes Tavares).- Service Design Methods: Knowledge Co-production in Health and Social Care (Alison Prendiville).- Why Hospitals Need Service Design (Kristine Rise Fry).- Neonatal Care Unit: Special Care for Babies (Moema Loures).- Alarm in the ICU! Envisioning Patient Monitoring and Alarm Management in Future Intensive Care Units (Elif Özcan, Dilip Birdja, Lianne Simonse, Ard Struijs).- Patient Self-service Paradigms in Hospital and Healthcare Service Design Settings (Jenny Darzentas, Helen Petrie).- Flying Drones to Exchange Lab Samples: Service Innovation by the Swiss Multisite Hospital EOC (Federico Umberto Mion).- Service Designing a New Hospital for the Lapland Hospital District (Satu Miettinen, Mira Alhonsuo).- Health Services Design Based on Innovations in Two Hospitals in Mexico (Leonel Corona-Treviño, Constanza Márquez-Aguilar, Eva Tecuanhuey-Sandoval).- Dealing with Different Cultures: Overcoming Challenges of Service Design in a Multicultural World (Neena Gupta-Biener, Sanjeev Kanoria, Karin Messer-Misak).