Take care with Carebuddy
St. Joseph's Hospital
2022
#UI/UX Design #User Research​
#Product Design
Role:
UX Designer Researcher​
Duration:
12 Weeks
Carebuddy for St. Joseph's is a free app that will guide users of the hospital every step of the way, from making them ready for upcoming appointments to after their visit is finished. In this project, we focused on the day of the patient visit. Researched and interviewed healthcare providers and healthcare users to find a better way to improve the hospital visit experience.
About two in five (39%) Americans have felt anxious before going to
a doctor's appointment.
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About 38% of Americans have felt they didn't have enough information to help them prepare for their visit.
​Have you ever felt unsure, worried, or dreaded your upcoming appointment at the hospital?
These uneasy emotions can cause people to avoid seeking medical attention even if they are seriously ill.
How Might We...
Provide patients with expectations for the day of their appointment at St. Joseph’s, so they feel more confident before they enter and when they exit.
To find the pain point from both sides, we interviewed 7 healthcare users and 3 healthcare providers from St. Joseph's hospital and did a field trip in St. Joseph's hospital to find some more details.
Healthcare Users
7
3
Healthcare providers
from St. Josephs
Field trip in St. Josephs
1
Quotes from people
"I was looking for this orthopedic when I spoke with them, and I told them exactly what I needed. They still got me the wrong doctor."
"How do I get there faster? Where do I go? Where do I pay? All the signage is horrible."
"I appreciate appointment reminder texts and what to bring. I tend to ignore email reminders because there is so much information at the beginning and the end, that I don’t even look at the important part."
"Feelings of being cared for instills a level of confidence that I have in them (the doctor) when going to my appointment."
​From our interviews, we identified four key pain points.
1. Need help with navigation
3. Don't know what to bring and what to expect
2. Can't connect with the right doctor
4. Don't feel being cared for the whole process
Also, we synthesized our research into three main insights on why users don't feel confident about their appointments.​
Visualization
Complex medical information presented without visuals can be difficult for patients to understand.
Communication
Communication between hospitals and users is not efficient, and appointment details can be scattered across different sources. This makes it difficult to access information quickly.
Education
Healthcare providers need ongoing education about cultural differences to provide better bedside care. Empowering patients with basic medical knowledge helps them navigate the healthcare system with greater confidence.
We mainly focus on visualization and communication for a solution that can improve the experience in a shorter time.
User persona
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Jenn is a patient of St. Joe’s. In her ideal user journey, she should feel prepared and comfortable for her appointment and during her visit, and be able to keep track of what she can do for the next steps.
Site map
Wireframing for testing
Carebuddy is your all-in-one medical appointment companion app. From finding the right doctor to receiving your hospital records, Carebuddy guides you every step of the way. Never feel lost or overwhelmed navigating the healthcare system again!
Hi, I am Carebuddy.
Don't worry, I'll be here to guide you through your appointment, from the moment you arrive until you leave. You're in good hands!
Functions
On our homepage, we have tickets for all upcoming appointments and current doctors, and it will also mention the forms that need to be filled out.
The ticket can help visualize appointment information clearly so users can easily understand when or where their appointment is.
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Each color represents the different departments in St. Joe's, so it would be easier for users to find their way.
The checklist of things to bring and important reminders helps users keep all of this information in one place.
This is a video message from your doctor. After you make your appointment, you can view this video to get a first impression of them. This provides users with a first human-to-human connection with their doctor and helps them feel more comfortable.
The map can be followed directly to the location and department of the appointment.
The appointment summary helps keep track of medical records and the next steps for users.
In the future state of this app, we are considering adding a chatbot for quick questions, community groups for the patients to support each other, and educational articles resources for reading.
Carebuddy would take around four months to build, with a team of app developers, UX designers, graphic designers, marketing agencies, medical records companies, and HIPPA. Although the app is free and does not bring direct revenue, here is how it helps the service to get the benefit.
Thanks to St. Joseph's Health sponsoring the project