Redesign of a complex scheduling system for a healthcare platform ( emr)

In 2022, I had the opportunity to engage in a project that was a perfect match for my passion for healthcare innovation. I collaborated with ZoomCare in Portland, Oregon, a company renowned for revolutionizing quick access to healthcare. Known for offering the fastest care with better accessibility at any time, including extended hours, ZoomCare provides personalized care whether through virtual visits or in-clinic appointments. The patient experience there is widely recognized as one of the best in the healthcare sector.

However, ZoomCare was confronting challenges as their rapid expansion led to operational inefficiencies, particularly within their electronic medical records (EMR) system, which was originally built in the 1990s. These inefficiencies were beginning to have a noticeable impact on the patient experience. The EMR system, essential for coordinating provider shifts and service lines, was riddled with issues that complicated patient appointments and reduced the overall effectiveness of the system.

My role as UX Designer involved diving deep into the existing system to identify the main pain points, and leading a comprehensive redesign to ensure the EMR system’s efficiency and reliability. This was not just about enhancing a software platform, but about safeguarding the continuity of exceptional patient care at ZoomCare.

Problem Statement

The original system presented multiple challenges:

1.Time-Consuming Shift Creation: users were required to manually create shifts one at a time for a six-week period, a process that was not only tedious but also error-prone.

2. Inefficiency in Shift Management: Difficulties in identifying and modifying shifts led to operational delays and frustration among users.

3. Poor Usability on Standard Devices: The interface did not scale well on smaller screens such as MacBook Pro 12 inches or MacBook Air, complicating the user experience.

4. Ineffective Filtering Mechanisms: The existing filtering functionality was flawed, making it difficult to navigate and manage provider schedules effectively.

Defining the problem

Goals

• 💻 Operational Efficiency: Streamline the process of creating and managing shifts to save time and reduce errors.
• ❤️ User Experience Improvement: Enhance the interface to ensure it is intuitive and accessible on commonly used devices, improving the ease of use.
• 🤝 System Integration: Ensure seamless integration with other parts of the EMR system, such as the booking experience, to reduce bugs and enhance overall functionality.

Process

• User Research and Stakeholder Interviews: Conducted extensive interviews with end-users and stakeholders to gather insights into the existing problems and expectations for the system redesign.

• Comparative Analysis: Reviewed comparable systems in the industry to benchmark performance and functionalities.

• Design and Prototyping: Developed multiple iterations of design solutions, incorporating feedback from continuous usability testing and stakeholder reviews.

• Regular Sync-ups: Held weekly meetings with the project team, including developers and product managers, to ensure alignment and iterative improvement based on user feedback and technical constraints.

Outcome

• Enhanced Shift Creation: Redesigned the shift creation process to allow for bulk operations and future scheduling, significantly reducing the time required to perform these tasks.

• Improved Usability: Updated UI to be more responsive on various devices, enhancing accessibility and user satisfaction.

• Functional Filtering: Refined the filtering options to be more intuitive, allowing users to easily navigate and manage schedules.

• Integrated System Experience: Ensured that the redesigned scheduling system worked seamlessly with the booking platform, reducing the incidence of overbooking and scheduling errors.

Learnings

• 🤝 Collaboration is Key: Continuous engagement with developers, designers, and end-users through an internal communication channel was crucial for gathering real-time feedback and insights.
• 👩🏻‍💻 User-Centric Design: Adopting a user-centric approach in the iterative design process helped in aligning the system functionalities with the actual user needs and practices.
• 🏃🏻‍♀️ Agile Methodology: Employing agile methodologies facilitated quicker iterations and better adaptation to changing requirements and feedback.

Future Directions

Conclusion

This project exemplifies the power of user-centered design in transforming complex systems into user-friendly platforms that cater to the needs of dynamic environments like healthcare. The collaboration across teams and the agile approach were instrumental in achieving a design solution that not only meets but exceeds user expectations.