Designing for Remote Primary Care
Role
UX Lead
Design Strategy
Design Research
Platform
iOS
Web (Responsive)
Scope
1.0 Pilot Launch
This healthcare startup provides a platform for doctor-patient communication. I led the UX design process from concept development through to launch with a pilot partner.
Take a look at most software in the healthcare industry and you’ll want to run in the opposite direction. Hale’s goal is to create a platform that is simple and clear to use, both for the healthy patient who might download it once and not need to open it again for months, and also for doctors for whom it is an everyday tool. The core challenge was to create a simple, elegant solution for two very different user types on two very different platforms.
Sticking to Our Principles
Along the way we faced a lot of challenges, from integrating third party APIs without sacrificing the user experience worse to mapping the language used so that doctors would see one thing and patients another.
By defining clear principles and using those to create an interaction model that supported simplicity, we were able to create a communication platform that served both users well. A key part of the solution was to focus on context and use that to determine what to present to the user. The details of the solutions were very different for the occasional patient than they were for the doctor, an expert user, but the core principles and focus on context remained.
Key Takeaways
Complex challenges can result in complicated softtware. Simple is hard to achieve, often the hardest thing. Add to that the challenge of articulating 'simple' for two very different users and it can become easy to lose sight of the end goal. By spending time upfront clarifying our user experience principles and then using them to inform our interaction model, with its focus on context, we were able to design within a framework that encouraged simplicity and interpreted it in ways that made sense for the user.
Greater access to MY Doctor
Finally a solution that lets me communicate with MY doctor without having to go to the office. The clean interface and user friendly experience ensures that anyone will be able to use and enjoy this app.
HealthNut1.2.3. in the App Store (2015)
