Representative Case Study - Multi-Person Appointment Scheduling

Disclaimer: The following is a hypothetical scenario created for educational purposes. It does not relate to any actual products, organizations, projects, or proprietary information.

Context

While the existing patient portal was originally designed for desktop usage, analytics showed over 60% of users were instead accessing the product via mobile devices. As the growing trend of mobile health continues, developing an optimized mobile experience was imperative.

Additionally, with approximately 40% of American adults having at least one child under 18 living in the household, there was a sizable population with the need to easily schedule and manage appointments for their entire family. Existing solutions lacked the convenience and usability required to effectively serve the time-strapped needs of busy caregivers.

Problem

As patient engagement became increasingly important, deploying a modern mobile application was critical to meet evolving user preferences and support this large demographic managing healthcare for multiple family members simultaneously. A cross-platform solution designed from the ground up for mobile would fulfill this pressing need.

Existing options were clunky mobile adaptations of desktop workflows that did not support the on-the-go lifestyles of caregivers. Patients wanted a simpler, more intuitive way to schedule and manage appointments for their entire household directly from their phones.

Objective

My goal was to design and build an intuitive mobile flow allowing patients to easily schedule appointments for multiple family members from any location. I wanted to create a solution that provided a streamlined, convenient way for caregivers to schedule their entire household's healthcare needs simultaneously.

By developing a clean, simple interface optimized for one-handed use while on the go, the objective was to give busy parents an effortless way to view availability, select providers and times, and book appointments for multiple children or family members in a single session. This unified scheduling approach aimed to save users significant time versus toggling between individual logins and profiles. It also minimizes headaches associated with coordinating appointments across various family members, providers and locations.

Most importantly, the MHR would fulfill the rising need for a native mobile solution allowing caregivers to conveniently manage their families' healthcare from their phone anytime, anywhere.

My Role

As the Senior UX lead for this project, it was my responsibility to thoroughly analyze the current challenges, carefully explore design solutions, and ensure the redesign met user needs while respecting existing workflows. I ideated and prototyped new concepts, worked closely with stakeholders to refine solutions, and led user groups to validate design decisions before implementation. My aim was to deliver an experience that significantly improved productivity while feeling intuitive and appropriate for these important customers.

Methodology

An iterative user-centered design process was employed from the outset. This included rapid prototyping of paper wireframes and interactive mockups to refine the scheduling experience. User research such as surveys, interviews and contextual inquiries informed each stage of design.

Participatory design workshops incorporated direct stakeholder feedback to evolve specifications. Multiple design sprints were conducted during development to continuously validate and improve the experience. As screens progressed to high-fidelity, additional usability studies provided qualitative and quantitative insights.

This iterative approach prioritized simplicity and ease of use. Continuous evaluation and refinement through research and stakeholder involvement ensured the solution effectively supported core workflows. By maintaining focus on users and collaboration, this methodology produced an intuitive mobile experience optimized for family healthcare management.

Solution

The solution was to develop a unified healthcare appointment scheduling section specifically designed for families within the larger MHR app. By allowing authorized caregivers to schedule for all household members from a single portal, significant time savings and convenience could be achieved compared to separate logins and processes.

The redesigned interface presents availability views for multiple providers on one screen, empowering users to easily compare schedules and select the most suitable option based on preferences like location, doctor, and time. Users can book for themselves as well as any children or other relatives requiring care with just one session.

An advanced version implements predictive intelligence and machine learning capabilities. By analyzing historical appointment and utilization data, the section suggests optimal dates and times that avoid common conflicts like school schedules or recurring activities. Over time, the AI model becomes more accurate as it assimilates aggregated insights from many caregivers.

Through user-centered design and an iterative development approach, this scheduling section aimed to streamline the process. By meeting users with an experience tailored specifically for managing an entire household's healthcare needs, frustrations and coordination difficulties would be reduced. Improved access to care and higher levels of engagement were ultimately the goals.

Results

Early metrics showed significantly higher adoption of mobile scheduling versus desktop within the first three months of launch. Mobile scheduling via the MHR increased by 30% compared to the previous rates on desktop. Usability testing also demonstrated the intuitive design, as 95% of participants successfully completed common appointment booking scenarios without assistance.

Feedback indicates key features are delivering substantial benefits:

• The ability to conveniently schedule an entire household from a single login is saving caregivers valuable time compared to separate processes for each family member.

• Real-time availability views empower families to instantly compare appointment times across all of their preferred providers in one place.

• Smart appointment suggestions based on history help streamline selection of optimal dates.

• User management supporting multiple profiles under one account simplifies healthcare coordination for households.

The positive user response illustrates how the unified scheduling experience has proven extremely valuable for busy families. By optimizing access via mobile, the MHR is transforming engagement and making healthcare more convenient. Ongoing enhancements will expand the solution's value as needs evolve.