The Challenge 🏥

When taking visit notes feels like solving a Rubik's cube blindfolded 

Our broken documentation system was riddled with problems

• Legacy EMR trapping providers in inefficient workflows

• Cognitive overload killing productivity

• Patient care quality suffering

  
  

How Might We:

Transform the fragmented scheduling experience into a unified system that captures patient preferences, streamlines transportation coordination, and maximizes provider time—all while reducing the booking process from minutes to seconds?

My Role 🎨

Herding cats (aka designers) while reimagining healthcare technology 

• Led the project as Director of Product Design

• Led 4 UX + 2 UI designers

• Partnered with 4 engineering teams

• Transformed entire documentation experience

End Users 👥

The Heroes Behind the Screens

Primary Care Providers (PCPs)

• Drowning in paperwork between patient visits

• Desperately seeking a way to document faster

• Constantly racing against time to complete charts

• Carrying the weight of accurate patient records

  
  

Nurses and Clinical Staff

• Juggling multiple patient needs simultaneously

• Struggling to keep documentation accurate amid constant interruptions

• Bridging communication gaps between providers

• Overwhelmed by repetitive data entry

  
  

Methodology 🧭

Human-Centered Design Process

Unique Approach Highlights

• Conducted multi-state usability simulation across 6 states

• Held multiple rounds of workshops with clinicians

• Used patient actors to create ultra-realistic testing scenarios

• Developed comprehensive testing methodology that went beyond standard usability practices

Honing in on the Vision 👁️

Prioritizing Features

Everyone's favorite part - fighting for 'MVP'. I made sure the design team had a hand in evaluating end-user usefulness for every one.

Understanding the Ecosystem

You can't design in a bubble. Encounter notes was going to be used in conjunction with several tools so I made it my business to make sure that was accounted for in the design decisions we were going to make.

Defining the framework

The MVP would be the foundation of the tool for years to come so it was important that we got it right. Iteration, iteration, iteration.

Focusing on high impact features

There was a lot to do! I had the team hone in on some of the trickiest problems to solve as a group, and then let individuals hash out the rest.

Key Design Moments 🚀

Intelligent Diagnostic Wizard

Turning thousands of mind-numbing medical codes into a user-friendly choose-your-own-adventure 

Before: Thousands of cryptic medical codes

After: AI-powered diagnostic journey

• 4x fewer clicks

• Clinically intuitive navigation

• Improved diagnostic accuracy

  
  

Error Prevention Reimagined

Catching medical errors before they become a game of dangerous telephone 

• Smart Validation System

• Real-time clinical safety alerts

• Differentiated warning levels

• Prevented dangerous data entry mistakes

  
  
  
  

Collaborative Documentation

Breaking up the solo documentation silo and creating a space for the whole team to work on the visit

• From Single-User to Team-Based

• Multi-user concurrent editing

• Real-time team presence

• Section-locking for collaboration.

Leadership Moment 🕵️

How we turned a prototype into proof

The Mega Usability Simulation

When transforming healthcare software, you can't just guess—you need to prove it works. I orchestrated a massive, multi-state usability testing marathon that would make most project managers sweat:

• Scale: Tested across 6 states and 10 different care teams

• Prototype: Hyper-detailed Axure RP prototype

• Innovation: Recruited patient actors to create realistic scenarios

• Approach: Comprehensive simulation of clinical workflows

Key Simulation Results

• Rooming Tasks: 94% success rate (344/366)

• Exam Tasks: 87% success rate (80/91)

• Post-Visit Tasks: 97% success rate (38/39)

• RN Visit Tasks: 93% success rate (40/43)

  
  

Small Discoveries, Big Impact 

We uncovered nuanced usability issues that could have derailed the entire project:

• Subtle navigation friction points

• Micro-interactions that confused users

• Contextual misunderstandings in collaborative features

The Impact 📈

When design actually makes people's work lives better

• CSAT Score: 2.3 → 4.5

• 2 Patent-Pending Innovations

• Transformed Clinical Workflow

  
  

Key Metrics

Numbers that prove we didn't just make pretty screens

• 93% Task Completion Rate

• Significant Efficiency Gains

• Happier Healthcare Providers

Lessons Learned 🧠

Wisdom from the trenches of healthcare UX

1. Start Small, Iterate Often

   • Massive transformations happen through incremental improvements

   • Be prepared to pivot based on real user feedback

2. Simulation is Not a Luxury, It's a Necessity

   • Realistic testing environments reveal what theoretical designs cannot

   • Patient actors and multi-state testing provide unparalleled insights

3. Design for Workflow, Not Just Screens

   • Understanding clinical reality trumps technical possibilities

   • Every design decision must pass the "does this help providers?" test

4. Collaboration Beats Complexity

   • Simple, intuitive tools win over feature-rich, complicated systems

   • Reduce cognitive load wherever possible

5. Empathy is Your Most Powerful Design Tool

   • Walk in the users' shoes

   • Healthcare design is about human experience, not just technology

     
     

Pro Tip 💡

Design WITH clinicians to get fill the gaps in your understanding of workflows. Also, be sure to buy them coffee - they're going to need it!