CONTEXT
Timeline:
10 Weeks
Tools:
Sketch
Invision
Marvel
Photoshop
Trello
My Role:
UX/UI
Research
Wireframing
Prototyping
Usability Testing
Illustrations
OVERVIEW
Problem
In Canada, when doctors write prescriptions, they see the name of the drug, but not the price. This means patients may be prescribed more expensive medication when there are equally effective and cheaper alternatives. This leads to some patients forgoing their medication, pill splitting, or returning to the doctor for a cheaper option, contributing to downstream health-care costs in Canada.
““Those who can’t or won’t fill their prescriptions end up back in hospital [a phenomenon that costs the healthcare system between $7-and $9-billion annually] and the phenomena leads to higher mortality””
RESEARCH
Findings
While researching the problem area I also discovered:
Prescription drug information is constantly being updated
Doctors have unknowingly prescribed drugs to their patients that they just can’t afford
Patients are too uncomfortable to raise financial concerns
Knowing the price isn’t very useful if a doctor doesn’t know what other comparable drugs are available
Framing the Problem
HOW MIGHT WE IMPROVE THE WAY DOCTORS PRESCRIBE MEDICATION?
Interviews & Observations
Interview Themes
1) Accessibility to information:
"It is very indirect. It sort of waters its way down. I usually find out from the patients that come back and tell me the medication is too expensive"
- Excerpt from Interview #1
2) Patient Return:
"If they can’t afford the medication they come back and ask for cheaper alternatives"
- Excerpt from Interview #5
3) Time:
“I already have so much on my plate that I just don’t have time to look up costs during an appointment”
- Excerpt from Interview #2
Interview Insights
Target User
The persona was created based on the interview participants’ behaviours, motivations and pain-points. This gave a clearer picture of the user’s expectations.
Experience Map
The persona was utilized in the experience map to follow their journey through the current landscape when prescribing medication to patients.
Opportunities
Analyzing the journey of the persona, I was able to discover their pain points. This led me to opportunities for design intervention:
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
Task prioritization
In order to understand the functionality of my mobile digital product I developed a series of user stories. After writing 59 user stories my core epic was:
As a doctor, I want to see the cost of the drug so that I can fully inform my patients in order to have shared decision making.
Initial Concepts
Test Now, Test Often
Wireframes were developed using Sketch. After completing the low-fidelity wireframes, a round of user tests, 5 participants per test, was conducted. Feedback from the participants allowed for an improved experience and increased usability with each iteration. There are four iterations in total and three rounds of user tests.
Iterative Process: Drug Selection
VISUAL DESIGN
UI Library & Design System
DESIGN SOLUTION
The SALUS Assist
The conceptual solution proposed is a mobile application which assists doctors during appointments by providing them with comparable options, up to date, accessible, and reliable information about medications and their costs.
CONCLUSION
Reflection
Challenges I faced within the design:
Gaining access to Doctors
Fitting an extensive amount of information into limited space
Finding an effective way to compare two drugs
Next Steps
I would like to explore:
Creating greater hierarchy, contrast, and depth within the design
A notification system warning doctors if the drug they are proposing to prescribe interacts harmfully with drugs the patient is already taking
Exploring an offline mode
*All illustrations and icons were made by yours truly.