Improving the Pulse of Patient Engagement & Care Access

Overview

In early 2021, Prosody Health brought me on board to help shape their novel algorithm into a robust patient engagement and care access platform.

My Role: Consultant for user research and product design lead

The Problem

Behavioral health clinicians faced overwhelming workloads. They managed dozens to hundreds of patients, seeing 8-12 daily. Paper assessments and clunky EHR tools slowed them down. Social factors limited in-person visits, reducing critical patient data.

Goal: Create a tool to help clinicians engage patients and monitor their health more effectively.

Research

We interviewed key stakeholders: 3 clinicians, 2 administrative directors, and 3 patients.

Our research revealed:
- Existing clinical workflows and monitoring methods
- Administrative challenges in measuring staff performance and patient health
- Patient perspectives on healthcare provider selection and health technology

We created journey maps to visualize interactions between patients, providers, and admin staff, spotting improvement opportunities.

Design Process

Starting with the patient's perspective, I sketched lo-fi concepts for the onboarding experience. Collaborating with the CEO, product manager, and lead engineer, we developed a high-fidelity prototype.

We tested our prototype with a small group of patients and demoed it to partner organizations for feedback.

Based on feedback, we shifted focus from building a new UI for our algorithm to digitizing clinical assessments. This allowed:
- Remote distribution of assessments
- Easy mobile completion for patients
- Better monitoring of patient population health for administrators

Implementation

I worked closely with users, stakeholders, and the Prosody team throughout the project. Continuous testing and iteration led to a highly accessible product.

Convincing leadership to delay decisions until we completed user research was tough. Our findings ultimately proved this approach valuable.

Results

Through our efforts:
- Partner organizations saw a 50x increase in assessment distribution and monitoring
- Healthcare directors gained clear performance metrics
- Clinicians provided quicker treatment with better patient prioritization

"This saves us tons of time and gives clinicians the insight they need without getting bogged down."
_{- Director of Admissions @ Behavioral Health Org}

Reflection

During this engagement, I gained further experience in leading end-to-end UX research engagements, and incorporate findings quickly into high fidelity prototypes. I gained a clearer understanding of capabilities of Chart.js, and made design concessions to adhere to technical specifications. I developed skills in pushing back on business and technical leadership when necessary to prioritize user needs. Digitizing paper assessments taught me about transforming traditional healthcare practices into user-friendly digital experiences.