CASE STUDY:
Provider Search
Please note:
Due to a non-disclosure agreement associated with this project, I am only able to show certain work examples. Some images have been intentionally manipulated to protect sensitive information, and many design examples are recreations.
Project Overview
Summary
BJC Healthcare recognized the need to modernize and optimize its digital tools in order to attract more patients and foster trust within the organization, and they placed a high priority on improving their "find-a-doctor" (FAD) experience. This project involved enhancing all pages and interactions within the existing tool, integrating additional features and exploring potential connections to other tools. While most solutions were previously sourced from external vendors, the big-picture strategy for all digital products was to transition towards internal, custom solutions, starting with the provider search feature.
Project Type:
Major feature redesign​
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Roles:
UX Designer
UX Researcher
Visual Designer
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Duration:
9 months
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Primary Tools:
Figma
Miro
Goals
PRIMARY GOAL
Modernize & Optimize User Experience
Focus on the creation of a user-friendly and visually appealing interface to facilitate the conversion of new patients.
SECONDARY GOALS
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Increase brand awareness and apply updated design system
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Improve search terms & filtering
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Create fully-responsive mobile designs
Planning
UX Intake
To better understand the problem, goals and UX needs of the project, I collaborated with the Product Owner (PO) and key leaders to complete several planning tasks, including:
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Leading a UX intake exercise aimed at identifying and aligning on the core problem, with the ultimate goal of discovering the most desirable, feasible, and viable solution.
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Establishing well-defined initial objectives for research and design efforts.
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Defining the scope of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
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Preparing for the establishment and measurement of success by pinpointing the most critical metrics for the product and establishing a benchmark to monitor our metrics' progress over time.
UX intake activities & documents
Organization
Our first step was to create tracking systems for our work. Operating in an Agile framework, we conducted work in two-week sprints, punctuated by Program Increment (PI) planning sessions every four months. However, since UX tasks don't always align neatly with the time-boxed nature of other team responsibilities, we found it necessary to develop a dedicated UX tracking board. This board served as a valuable tool to monitor and communicate the progress of UX work within the team.
Roadmap on left, UX work tracking system on right (images from roughly 3 months into the project).
Research
"Show me a good-looking website of your doctors and I'll trust that your hospital is on top of things."
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-Andrea L.
User interview
Discovery
Before diving into the design process, I focused on thoroughly understanding the current product by gathering all available information, reviewing previous research, analyzing competitors, and creating new artifacts.
Understanding Current State User Sentiment
I collaborated with multiple teams to engage in user discovery activities. Our user research efforts included:
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Individual interviews
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Focus Groups
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Surveys
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Synthesizing user interviews
Previous Research
I collected all available documentation related to the current provider search feature, generalized provider search research, and insights on the overall experience of patients on the BJC website. I then compiled the most pertinent information into valuable insights that would serve as a foundation for the redesign initiative. All insights were shared with product leadership and team members, and presented to key stakeholders.
Previous provider search research
Competitive Analysis
As we started to dig into the current state of our own tool, we needed to evaluate what was happening across the healthcare landscape in other provider search tools. I conducted a comprehensive analysis of 20 national healthcare organizations, scrutinizing their features, functionality, and visual aesthetics for comparative purposes.
Competitive Analysis
Understanding our users
As a part of the comprehensive initiative to revitalize digital products across the enterprise, BJC collaborated with several agencies to establish consistency among user experiences. We actively worked alongside these partners, providing valuable persona and journey data that contributed to the development of a unified and cohesive set of personas and journey maps for the organization.
Journey Maps & Personas
Design
Bringing Ideas to Life
Research drives design, and we spent a lot of time getting the research in place to solidify our hypotheses moving forward with designs.
Figma Files
While there were existing Figma files for this product, the files needed to be entirely recreated to reflect the new layout and design system. I created a page structure within each file for designs and local components, a notation system to add accessibility and working notes to the designs. ​
Enabling Collaboration
My additional contributions to the UX operations of the team include:
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Outlining UX ways of working
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Creating a "UX guide" for the team with information on file storage and design file locations and quick links
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Creating channels of communication for feedback, input and opportunities
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DNA: An Emerging Design System
As a co-creator of the BJC design system, named "DNA", I worked to create elements for all digital products. I was able to see the gaps and opportunities in elements related to our own product and work to create the components needed for our Find-A-Doctor designs. Our product team was the primary team working on multi-variable search and we took ownership of creating the multi-field search bar, filtering and search results design.
Wireframes & Sketches
Using Miro, I initiated a series of workshops to identify the basic features and structure of each page. This was largely achieved by using screenshot snippets of existing models and building a series of "dream state" mockups. Once we had a good idea of the first iteration, I created higher fidelity designs based on the design system.
Design Review
All of the designs created for Find-A-Doctor went through a process of reviews within our product team, in multi-team portfolio meetings, in presentations with stakeholders and in ad-hoc reviews with teams such as marketing, when applicable.
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Miro was the BJC-wide collaboration tool and it was used for all review and share-out sessions. The examples below show an example of how a review went with our product team.
Examples of design review activities that show a series of screenshots notated by sticky notes.
Feature 1: Provider Profile
Our research provided many actionable insights on the optimal page structure and the user's most sought-after information. With these insights guiding us, I implemented the following significant improvements:​
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Incorporated Star Ratings: Star ratings were integrated into profiles, appearing both in the header section and lower on the page, providing users with more comprehensive insights into the ratings.
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Streamlined Section Separation: Sections were distinctly separated to reduce cognitive load and enhance the user experience.
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Online Scheduling Capability: The feature to schedule appointments online was introduced, improving user convenience.
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Enhanced Insurance Verification: The insurance verification process was improved, reassuring users that their insurance was, or was not, accepted.
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Improved Navigation: Navigation between pages and related tools was made more intuitive, facilitating smoother user journeys throughout BJC.
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Interactive Location Cards: Interactive location cards were introduced, allowing users to zoom in and out and get a better understanding of where providers are located.
PREVIOUS STATE
Additional sections on this page followed similar title/content structure as the "About Me" section.
Star Rating
The ability to see a star rating was almost universally seen as a necessary feature when selecting a provider. However, we didn't want to add a feature that wasn't valuable, and ensuring the legitimacy and accuracy of online ratings presented many challenges. In order to provide the most accurate ratings, BJC partnered with WebMD to source the most up-to-date and trusted provider ratings. In addition to partnering with a trusted source, BJC chose to establish internal guidelines and criteria when displaying reviews. For example, reviews can only be shown when a provider has accumulated a minimum of 30 reviews.
UPDATED DESIGN
Updated Provider Profile
FUTURE STATE: ONE PROFILE FOR EVERY PROVIDER ACROSS ALL SITES
One provider with multiple profiles across different organization websites
Feature 2: Provider Card
The provider card remained in a state of continuous evolution to adapt to new requirements and the inclusion of additional organizations. While enhancing the card's aesthetics, usability, and functionality, the design was intentionally kept flexible to seamlessly accommodate ongoing changes and future demands.
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Iterative Refinement: The design underwent multiple iterations to reach its present state, optimizing its appearance, user experience, and functionality.
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Map Feature Removal: A problematic map feature was removed, as accurate data for a true primary location for providers was unavailable.
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Enhanced Visibility: Key information, such as star ratings and telehealth options, was made more prominent, ensuring users could easily access the most desired details.
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Online Scheduling: A valuable addition was the ability for users to schedule appointments online, directly from the provider card, enhancing convenience.
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Organization Logos: The inclusion of logos helped guide patients looking for specific organizations, improving navigation.
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Persistent Indicators: Certain indicators, such as "accepting new patients," were made consistently visible, ensuring that users clearly understood the status of each provider at a glance.
Original provider cards on left, iterations on the new provider card on right
Search Terms
One of the most significant and valuable enhancements to the Find-A-Doctor experience was the improvement in result quality based on search terms. Initial research revealed various issues in how search results were generated, resulting in inaccuracies and incomplete outcomes. For instance, a search for "Gynecology" yielded results, but "Gynecologist" did not, and "Primary care" returned results while "Primary" did not.
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Upon closer examination, it became clear that changes were necessary to broaden the search terms, incorporating more consumer-friendly terms rather than relying solely on board certification titles or strict specialty names. The team collaborated with multiple stakeholders to integrate non-clinical terms into the search algorithm. The outcome was a significantly enhanced system that accommodated partial terms, unconventional titles, and searches like "heart doctor." This transformation enabled more patients to find the care they needed, making the system much more user-friendly and inclusive.
Feature 3: Search Results & Filtering
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Research-Driven Enhancements: The improvements were rooted in extensive research, ensuring that user needs and preferences were at the forefront of the decision-making process.
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Filter Chips: Filter chips were introduced to enable users to easily refine their search, and quickly see and understand the factors contributing to search results.
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Competitor Analysis: A thorough analysis of competitors' offerings was conducted to identify best practices and areas for improvement.
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Prioritized Filters: Filters were prioritized based on a variety of factors, such as relevance, user demand, and usability.
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Sorting Capabilities: Sorting options were added to allow users to organize search results according to their preferences.
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Pagination Over Infinite Scroll: Pagination was chosen over infinite scroll to enhance accessibility and prevent users from experiencing "decision paralysis" due to an overwhelming number of options.
Comparison of previous version and new version of the provider profile.
Reviews and comparative research for filter improvements
Cross-functional Collaboration
Collaboration with developers played a crucial role in ensuring seamless alignment between design and development. This involved:
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Coordinating Design Handoff: Working closely with developers to facilitate the smooth transition of design assets and specifications for various breakpoints.
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Extensive Breakpoints: Addressing design considerations across multiple breakpoints to cater to various screen sizes and devices.
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Adaptability Challenges: Dealing with the initial design's limitations, which posed difficulties for making the interface fully responsive.
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Framework Migration: Navigating the challenges of migrating to a new framework, which often involved adapting and reworking the original design to fit within the new technical constraints.
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Compromises: Occasionally, compromises were necessary to strike a balance between design aspirations and technical feasibility.
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UX Sign-Off: Providing the final UX sign-off on projects to ensure that they met user experience and design standards before implementation.
Examples of collaborative sessions between design and engineering
Demystifying Primary Care
While doing initial usability testing to understand how users went through the process of finding a primary care doctor, I noticed that many users were unsure exactly what constituted primary care. A search for the term "primary care", or a click on the primary care quick filter, would return a variety of specialties. In follow-up questions I asked users how they decided between internal medicine or family practice, for example. It became apparent that there needed to be expanded guidance on this topic.
Based on the need to better define primary care and guide users to the correct care types, a page expanding on primary care was created. In future iterations the goal is to make this page more apparent during the search process.
Evaluate & Iterate
Soft Launch
The Find-A-Doctor MVP was released through a soft launch in order to minimize risk and maximize learning. The phased approach began by launching the fully-responsive, updated tool to 25% of Find-A-Doctor traffic on BJC.org. The soft launch was a success and the tool continued to be fine-tuned throughout all phases of deployment. As the Find-A-Doctor tool expanded, certain changes needed to be made to comply with partner branding and business needs, but the main functionalities of the tool remained in tact and performed well
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I created a feedback mechanism that was triggered when someone clicked through to the scheduling step of the patient process. We consistently received feedback that helped guide our iterations.
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Our team's business analyst tracked metrics through Google Analytics while we worked to embed additional tools in our products.
Analytics and feedback examples from the initial FAD MVP launch
Statistics
As of end of year 2022, BJC's investment in Find-A-Doctor and other digital tools showed incredible results! While Find-A-Doctor was considered the "digital front door" of BJC products, it worked in conjunction with other tools such as online scheduling to deliver new patients, or "new lives" to BJC.
$15.5M
ROI on Digital "Front Door" Product Initiatives
11
%
Increase in Conversion Rates
(in limited release)
17
%
Reduction in Time on Task
33
%
Decrease in Error Rates
(when performing
specialty searches)
+13,982
New Digital Primary Care Lives
REPRESENTING
18
%
of Total BJC Medical Group Growth
48
%
Reduction in Loading Time
Statistics sourced from BJC Healthcare's 2022 Report and through comparing benchmarked data with data points sourced during the first phase of the soft launch
Future Iterations
While many features were already slated for post-MVP implementation, research and analytics on the new Find-A-Doctor contributed to new prioritizations. Some of the most anticipated features included:
Sorting & Filtering by Next Available
One of the features that was overwhelmingly requested by users was the ability to filter and sort providers by soonest available. While this was not an existing data point and it could not be a part of the MVP, this is one of our main goals for the next iteration.
Distance & Location Control
Another data point currently being improved is the location of providers and the ability of a user to search providers nearby. By enhancing the zip code field to include a distance range, users will be able to more easily find providers nearby. ​
Compare Providers
Another sought-after feature was the ability to select and compare multiple providers side-by-side. Researched showed that in addition to seeing the key information we included in the provider profile, users want to see how the informations compares between doctors.​
Integration with Adjacent Products
While navigation has improved, there is an opportunity to expand the connections between products. For example, once a user finds a doctor and they want to schedule, the integration between the provider search and scheduling an appointment can be improved.​