Sharing is healthcaring
Healthcare is at a point of inflection. MedStar Health needed to differentiate its value and respond to this critical opportunity for change to improve their patient experience.
my role
Design lead through end to end process: discovery, user research, requirements, design, testing
team
Jennifer Turner, Project Manager
Alex Kim, Design Director
Samantha Singell, Visual Design
Olivia Lucas, Interaction Design
Andrew Borracas, Interaction Design
Finding the patient and consumer voice
The team set out to fundamentally change how MedStar Health interacts with its consumers by becoming their trusted partner for all things digital health. To do this, we had to put the consumer interests at the heart of the future healthcare vision.
In order to address the future consumer experience for MedStar Health, we needed to gain a deep understanding of the current state of healthcare, the pain points that exist, and imagine new experiences that provide impactful solutions.
To learn about the current state level of care being offered, the team interviewed 11 patients in the MedStar Health service area over a period of 2 weeks in their homes. To gain a broader view of how consumers approached healthcare, the team also conducted a dScout journaling study to capture the thoughts of 52 people throughout the country. The team also conducted mini workshops with various stakeholders within the organization to get to the heart of the issues.
patient interviews
11
Existing MedStar Health patients were interviewed to gain current-state understanding
journaling participants
52
Using dscout, consumers completed a custom journaling exercise throughout country capturing their healthcare moments
observations
3
Visited different MedStar Health facilities in the service area to understand the current state of service for consumers
workshops
4
Co-creation workshops were conducted to learn about the current state and validate new concepts
Key Research Insights
Convenience is currency
Consumers have an affinity for healthcare services that seem purposefully built for their needs, using the convenience they provide as the main decision-maker in choosing them over their competition.
Sharing is healthcaring
Transparency lacks throughout every step of a consumer’s journey, hindering their ability to make decisions in key moments and straining their relationships with systems and providers.
Community trumps complexity
In times of uncertainty and decision-making, consumers value established relationships with family, friends, and their own communities to guide their decision-making, rarely consulting further.
Handle with care
Regardless of where consumers are within their healthcare journey, limited personalization and a lack of communication from healthcare providers leaves consumers feeling unheard and unappreciated.
Loyal by default
Consumers with a negative perception about a healthcare service are reluctant to seek out better alternatives, and will remain loyal to individual providers without pursuing other available options.
Trust in control
When making healthcare decisions, consumers will elect for situations that give them control and make them feel empowered, often deprioritizing other factors like convenience or cost.
Designing for moments of care
With costs shifting more to the individual, our research showed that consumers of various demographics are seeking convenience in different ways. As is with a lot of services, convenience is prized in almost every aspect of our lives from shopping to online banking.
We learned that many consumers are tech resistant, and desire more contact with their providers. Others use tech to find convenience at the sake of the relationship. For MedStar Health, digital could not be the total solution for consumers. But it could be woven into every part of the experience. It should enhance the care experience internally and externally.
To address these issues, our strategy for the product and its ecosystem was to ensure all consumer interactions, even digital ones, represent a moment of care. These experiences should be more than just tools, services, and capabilities, and defined as opportunities for compassion, empathy, and consumer relationship.
A Vision For Connected Care
For MedStar Health to become the single trusted source for all healthcare needs, the application had to address the core insights we discovered.
- Provide valuable services even for the non-consumer like symptom checking and price comparison
- Make it easy for patients and consumers to browse MedStar services and get care in an instant
- Allow patients to connect with their care group including their family
- Simplify billing transparency
Conversational Triage
Current patients and potential consumers can easily seek care by conversing with AI enhanced triage. Users can select symptoms, how long they been experienced, and receive an assessment
Scheduling Made Easy
Current patients and potential consumers can easily view suggested appointments based on their need. Users can see options by list or by location, and pre-pay ahead of time to save time.
Transparent Billing
The app provides a single, honest view into costs of service, building trust, one bill at a time. Users can easily see the balance due, what was covered, and how much has been paid towards the family deductible.
One-Stop Pharmacy
Users are able to see the best options across several different brands for their prescriptions. They are even able to schedule a delivery and pay right in the app. Active notifications allow users to be alerted if any prices of her medication change.
The challenging, connected, and convenient future
Along with delivering the vision for an app, the team created a strategy and roadmap to allow MedStar Health to stop focusing on what everyone else is doing and start focusing on improving life for their consumers in turn leading them to real innovation, enhanced experiences, and more efficient internal processes.
With the current legal and regulatory environment, along with their business practices, the desired state will be challenging. Consumers have expressed what they want in their health system. For MedStar Health, this is not the end, it’s the beginning.
