challenge
Undiagnosed and untreated osteoporosis remains a silent but significant public health issue in Singapore, despite its addition to the Chronic Disease Management Programme. Patients are often only diagnosed after debilitating fractures. General practitioners are overwhelmed, digital systems are fragmented, and data-driven interventions are limited or nonexistent. Amgen asked us to uncover how a clinical assistant could surface osteoporosis risks earlier—supporting physicians, engaging caregivers, and ultimately helping the right patients receive the right care at the right time. My goal was to reconnect the system’s intent with its people—illuminating where care breaks down, and where design could restore confidence, continuity, and trust.
Client
Amgen
Format
App
ACTION
We worked alongside the Amgen Design Thinking team, end-to-end across research, strategy and prototyping to define what a truly useful clinical decision support tool could be. Design research across public and private care settings revealed the breakdowns in diagnosis, referral, and follow-through. We mapped system-wide frictions across 20+ interviews with clinicians, nurses, caregivers and patients. Workflow and system audits of health records systems like CPSS, NEHR and EPIC clarified where data could be surfaced to support timely decisions. Future-state concepts were co-created with care teams to reimagine what an osteoporosis-aware consultation could look like. We prototyped and tested a Clinical Decision Support (CDS) tool that used existing patient data to flag osteoporosis risks within routine consultations—making the invisible, visible. Australia was selected as the test market, where consolidated national health records enabled full integration with clinical systems for feasibility validation.
RESULTS
A market-tested CDS prototype that reframes how and when bone health is assessed: Proactively flags at-risk patients using passive data before a consultation begins. Reduces physician burden by embedding just-in-time prompts and contextual insights into existing care workflows. Equips caregivers and patients with simple next steps—bridging the gap between clinical intent and follow-through. But more than a tool, this was a blueprint for systemic change: Inspired a new R&D pathway within Amgen’s digital health innovation pipeline. Sparked internal policy-level advocacy around EHR integration, care continuity, and caregiver empowerment. Validated a replicable model for addressing other underdiagnosed conditions across aging populations.
LEADERSHIP LENS
Project Bonefide is a case study in how clarity, cadence, and care can drive progress in the most invisible parts of the healthcare system: Clarity brought to misaligned incentives, missing data signals, and the quiet burden on GPs and caregivers. Cadence maintained across complex clinical systems, ensuring co-creation remained grounded in real-world practice. Care embedded not just in the product, but in how we framed risk, empowered decision-making, and respected clinical time. Design leadership in this context meant more than vision. It meant restraint. Knowing when to surface complexity—and when to dissolve it.
