Chronicle
Problem
Rising number of “no-shows”
Research and discovery
User Surveys
To connect with the target audience, a survey was conducted with 50 patients who had missed prior virtual appointments in the orthopedic spine surgery department, and another survey was distributed to 50 patients who had successfully connected with a doctor during their virtual visits.
The survey aimed to gather insights into where roadblocks typically occurred, the points at which patients gave up, and any steps they attempted to take in order to resolve issues and meet with the doctor.
User Interviews
The survey results revealed that users were struggling with app registration, filling out intake forms, completing pre-visit tasks, and experiencing confusion due to a lack of communication while waiting in the virtual waiting room.
To determine if these challenges were unique to Columbia's orthopedic patients—possibly due to factors like an older population and many non-English speakers—we conducted additional interviews with 10 patients from other departments and diverse demographics who had recently completed virtual visits, aiming to validate our survey insights.
User quotes from interview
The interviews confirmed that the primary reason for missed appointments was the difficulty in reaching the doctor. Patients wanted to attend but felt helpless and overwhelmed, especially while quarantined with limited support from family or friends. A few key quotes from these conversations ultimately guided the project:
"The registration, to connecting was hard to figure out from start to finish."
"The intake form felt endless. When I finished the intake,
there was another set of tasks like uploading CDs and reports,
so I just gave up and left."
"I tried calling the office after staring at myself for 35 minutes, then the call dropped and I couldn’t get back in again."
Registration ux audit
I aimed to identify where patients were getting stuck during registration and other pre-visit steps to pinpoint what was causing confusion or issues with signing up for the app and accessing their virtual visits. Below is a snippet of the audit conducted for the registration journey.
Current User Journey Map
After auditing the registration and connection processes and analyzing survey and interview insights, I created a user journey map of the full experience. This map revealed key pain points and helped me focus on the main issues:
1. Complex registration due to a lengthy verification process
2. Confusion with pre-visit tasks
3. Communication gaps in the virtual waiting area.
New User flow
To address all low points in the user experience, I envisioned an ideal user flow that would align more closely with user expectations for a "smooth visit process."
UX PROPOSAL
To address rising no-show rates for virtual visits, I identified three critical UX issues in the user journey and proposed targeted solutions. These included simplifying the log-in process to reduce friction, integrating a pre-visit checklist early in the flow to improve patient preparedness, and providing real-time wait time updates along with a communication channel in the virtual waiting room to enhance transparency and engagement. These recommendations aimed to streamline the experience and improve attendance rates effectively.
Simple sign up
pre-visit tasklist
Virtual Waiting Room Communication
Impact and results
The proposal was well-received, with the streamlined sign-up process and pre-visit task list quickly implemented.
Reflection
This project highlighted the importance of understanding real user challenges. Through surveys, interviews, and a UX audit of the registration and connection processes, we discovered that the issue wasn’t a lack of interest but the overwhelming complexity of starting a virtual visit.
It became clear that simple design changes could significantly reduce frustration and improve the experience. This reinforced the value of designing with empathy and involving users to create solutions that truly meet their needs.
As the research progressed, my passion for solving this problem grew, and I wished I had more freedom to build out the app and features. However, given the focus on primary research and the time constraints, I stayed within scope to meet the project deadline. This experience has deepened my interest in health tech, and I’m excited about the potential of user-centered design to improve complex systems like healthcare.
