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Medsearch
Streamlining the search for a suitable health provider based on user needs
February - June 2019
My Role
User Research, User Experience, User Interface
Team
Keryn Christiansen (Lecturer)
Healthcare can get so complex...
How might we assist people in choosing a health provider that best suits their needs?
The Challenge
Healthcare is a complex field that can be overwhelming for the ill to navigate. Unless patients 'shop around' for health providers it's hard to know if there are better options. With something as important as our own health and wellbeing, we want to make sure we're making the most of our money.
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The Outcome
This project explores how this issue can be addressed by allowing people to choose a health provider most suitable to their needs. Medsearch is an online platform that shows different clinic options based on cost, distance and quality of service through other patient reviews.
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Primary research results revealed that for most people, lack of time and money hindered them from going to the doctor.
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I conducted a survey that produced 41 responses and insights into people's behaviour towards seeing a doctor at a high-level. I then interviewed 11 people to gain a deeper understanding of their perspective and hear stories told first-hand. After all, users are experts of their own experiences.
During the research phase, I sought to understand barriers that prevent people from getting a check-up. I also wanted to
learn about their preferences, motivations, and frustrations when seeking medical advice from a general practitioner to ensure my solution meets their needs.
View full list of interview and survey questions here.
After completing my research, I wrote down all of the responses on sticky notes and began to cluster them based on themes emerging.
From these I came up with "How might we" statements for ideation:
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How might we help patients feel more in control of booking appointments and seek medical advice at a time that suits them without sacrificing responsibilities?
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How might we assist patients in choosing a health provider that’s most suitable for them based on cost, distance and quality of service?
Clustering interview responses allowed me to discover trends and patterns from which insights could be constructed. Some key findings were:
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Since medical clinics are busy on most days, patients feel as though consultations are fit around the provider and not them, meaning they have to take time off work or uni to book an appointment and potentially miss out on pay or important activities.
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There is a lack of knowledge on medical information and healthcare costs amongst majority of patients (mainly students) which hinders them from exploring cheaper options and informing decisions on their own health.
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With UX design, the decided ‘How Might We’ statement is the foundation for ideas. It needed to be focused but open enough to encourage creative thinking and defer judgment.
The iterated HMW statement "How might we inform people on the different options available for health providers based on their needs?" encouraged lateral thinking better and resulted in ideas that aren’t strictly digital. In the end, a digital solution still seemed plausible as websites can be accessed easily.
Students were asked to vote on their preferred ideas around the classroom and majority of them thought an online platform that allows people to find or switch to a cheaper, closer or more reputable healthcare provider would be valuable for users.
Navigation for the prototype was kept logical. It starts out by “surveying” the user to help them narrow down their clinic options.
Filter and sort features allow them to alter their search results from whichever page they’re on – giving them full control over what they see. Instructions to further assist user experience, especially for older adults were also included for actions like adding to their comparison table e.g. “1 clinic has been added to your comparison table.” A strategy of relating importance to text size and composition was also employed.
For instance, during testing, users were drawn to the “suggestions” due to their placement and presentation over other important aspects of the site. Putting them at the top and in individual boxes made them stand out and take attention away from the rest of the information on the page. This was addressed in the final version of the prototype.
^ Initial idea for suggestion clinics in boxes
^ Final solution: Kept free flowing to give clinic cards primary importance
During user testing, it was important to give non-leading scenarios and questions to users so they can act instinctively.
medsearch: Contact
I conducted 6 usability tests to uncover issues with the prototype early on before iterating it to a high-fidelity stage. To organise and prioritise, I clustered insights on printed versions of the screens to determine what needed to be changed immediately and what could be saved for later.
A key takeaway was that users are more likely to trust a doctor if they know more about their background and expertise, so these were added to the iterated prototype along with a revised “look and feel” of the site as the amount of information although useful had the tendency to overwhelm users.
One key turning point that was made for iteration was incorporating the idea of having a “comparison table.”
After some benchmarking, I noticed that Healthpoint already functions similarly to my idea. However, I've searched for others that include a click and compare option, like you'd do looking for hotels on Trivago and found none. Thus, this idea became Medsearch's point-of-difference.
One user commented that instead of having another list of options to scroll through for the comparison table, it would make more sense to present information about multiple clinics on one table. This way it's easier for them to scan and compare.
^ Initial concept: Accumulated clinic options stacked
^ Final concept: Simplified table for faster comparison and reduced scrolling
Since the overall project was more focused on research and designing a solution out of user needs, I didn't get to take the interface as far as I would've wanted to due to time constraints.
Instead, we were tasked to create a brief video pitch that identifies pain points throughout the patient journey experienced by Barry, a persona formed out of insights I gathered about my target users in the research phase. It also highlights the website's features that help address user needs.
If time permits, I'd like to iterate on the current look of the website and conduct more usability tests to further validate its value and feasibility. I've indicated that the platform could be used to look up specialists as well, not just GP's, but I'd also wish to develop this feature to cater to different patient needs.
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