Medihub
An end-to-end mobile app designed to allow healthcare workers to search for and access quick, reliable clinical information. A simple design pattern saves time researching and allows more time to care for patients.
Giving Healthcare Workers the Information They Need
Helping Patients Receive the Care They Deserve
DELIVERABLES PROVIDED
Created wireframes and prototypes that align with both user and business goals and express design principles.
Crafted user and task flows, site map, affinity maps, personas, and user research. This allowed me to gather insights for which to base design decisions on.
Designed interactive components and prototypes to perform usability testing and iteration of the design based on feedback.
The healthcare industry is highly regulated and requires constantly updated, evidence-based, peer-reviewed data. Healthcare professionals often do not have enough time to search the internet for resources that are reputable. There are no resources that combine condition, drug, treatment and procedure information in one place.
Problem Background
Users are in need of an app where they can reference free information in one place. Medihub should enable users to search for, save, and access pages with information on conditions, drugs, and other relevant clinical information. How might we make this product convenient, simple, and time-saving?
Problem Statement
Success Measures
Users will be able to reduce the average time spent locating a condition or drug by at least 30%
The app will be rated at over 68% by users on the system usability scale (SUS)
Task completion rate will be at least 90% for all users
Discover
Research Objectives
Learn what resources users currently utilize and how/where they access them
Understand the motivation for selecting which resource they use
Understand users wants, needs, and frustrations with their current resources
Determine what features and information will be most valuable to users
Competitive Analysis
Large, reputable brand
Robust catalog of articles
Largest market share
STRENGTHS
Outdated, complicated UI
Not used for basic info on conditions, only for very specific studies
Some articles require additional payment
WEAKNESSES
Free content and resources
Tutor feature to ask clinical questions
News feature for updates on conditions and drugs
STRENGTHS
Some citations are outdated and not updated
Several features require downloading an additional app
WEAKNESSES
Utilizes reputable resources like Davis’ Drug Guide
Additional features like calculators and lab value ranges
STRENGTHS
Outdated, complicated UI
Some articles have no citation or references
Some databases advertised require additional subscription
WEAKNESSES
I interviewed 5 participants who have careers in various healthcare settings. Research allowed me to understand the user’s feelings, needs, motivations, habits, and pain points. Below are some of these insights:
User Interviews
Most users access resources via a work computer, and therefore cannot access them to study outside of work.
All users had to utilize several different resources for conditions, drugs, assessments, etc.
Most participants were not willing to pay a subscription for the apps or websites they use.
The users get frustrated with the complexity and how long it takes to search for a specific condition with their current resource.
Affinity Mapping
Define
User Personas
Define
Ideate
User Flow Mapping
Find condition or drug > add to saved folder > locate condition or drug on saved screen
Task Flow Mapping
Find Drug
Find Condition
Add to Folder
Locate From Saved List
Site Map
Key
ideate
Design
Low-Fidelity Sketches
Mid-Fidelity Wireframes
Homepage allows users to quickly search or browse through different categories
Category pages allow user to filter through different classifications, search, and add items to saved list
Condition and drug pages include different categories of information that users can scroll through
User can also add to saved list via the specific condition or drug page
Saved list will categorize saved items based on their classification, which user can filter through
User can add their own notes on various conditions or drugs
UI Kit
Typography
Color Palette
Buttons
Cards
Icons
Drop Downs
Form Fields
Headers and Footers
Hi-fidelity Wireframes
Convenient 1st screen allows user to add login details or choose to sign up
Added a screen for each condition classification, so user can search for specifically cardiac conditions, for example
Added the ability for quick preview of a condition by clicking down arrow
Drug cards show drug class under their name for fast identification
Added the ability to put conditions or drugs into different folders, for users who want additional organization
Test
A usability test was performed once the high-fidelity prototype was completed. Participants with different roles in healthcare were then recruited to take part in a Zoom virtual usability test. Below are the insights I gained:
Usability Testing
All tasks were efficiently and quickly completed. Average time spent on finding a condition page went from 8 minutes to 2 minutes and 45 seconds, a decrease of 65.6%.
Users rated the app at 77% on the system usability scale (SUS). Industry standard for a desired score is at least 68%.
Task completion rate was 100% for all tasks assigned. Some users took indirect paths, but till completed each task.
The resulting takeaways from usability testing were utilized to make revisions to my design. The final design was created with user feedback, needs, and pain points from research in mind.
Making Revisions
There were too many categories for a carousel feature per user feedback. I changed these categories to be displayed on screen for easier differentiation.
Shortened the header so it did not obstruct as much of the screen.
Building the Medihub app reinforced the importance of user research and testing in creating an effective and user-friendly app. Below are some of the ways this project has optimized my design process:
Key Takeaways
Creating an app in the med-tech industry requires a deep understanding of the target user’s current workflow and overall regulatory standards.
Product
This project allowed me to exercise my skills in creating and end-to-end app that simplifies a complex issue, as well as enhance the experience of a task that is typically tedious and time-consuming.
Testing
Early and frequent testing is especially useful for apps that require sophisticated navigation and information architecture. This will ensure that there is a seamless flow created for the user’s needs.
Final Thoughts
Add features like lab values and calculators
Consider adding a feature that allows hospitals to create profiles with topics that are relevant for each department
Add notifications for important updates on topics that have had new studies released
Next Steps
Thank you!
More projects to check out
A learning management system for students and teachers to easily navigate courses, grades, messages, and other features.
Addition of an eCommerce feature to the Apple Music app that follows brand design system guidelines.