Dentist Link
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The Problem
This project tackled two big problems- it's hard to find good dental care that's covered by Medicaid, and it's even harder for care coordinators, providers and referral specialists to work together to help a patient. How might we design to improve a system that supports low-income patients seeking dental care? The Solution DentistLink is a project initiated by Arcora Foundation, a non-profit organization, to help under-served persons on Medicare to locate Dental providers that take their insurance, and to support providers and social support workers in supporting them throughout the process. While the pilot is centered around dental care, it's designed to be scaled to include other medical services in phase 2 of the project. |
Timeframe: March 2018- July 2018
My role I worked on all aspects of the design process, sprinting ahead of the development team to keep a fast paced project on track, from basic wireframes to high-fidelity prototypes. |
Process
I started working with the Acora team about halfway into the development process. My first step was understanding the problem space, the scope of the project, and the work that had already been completed from the engineering side. I did a preliminary heuristic analysis on the existing version 1 wireframes in order to best understand the project and potential usability issues.
Below are examples of the wireframes that had been created before I joined the team:
Below are examples of the wireframes that had been created before I joined the team:
The dashboard was limited to a simple table, and the columns were quite redundant. Additionally, there wasn't a clear call to action to create a new patient file.
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The appointment edit page was cluttered with information, but more importantly it was unclear whether the user was creating a new patient or a new appointment.
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Much of the core functionality of the product is in the dashboard- a patient database for all logged-in users that contains the appointment creation flow and helps users track their cases. I created a number of quick, low-fidelity mockups and iterated based on feedback from Arcora, including dental provider experts.
I adapted Arcora's brand identity guidelines for DentistLink, making the secondary blue the primary color in Dentist Link. I worked with a flat design framework to keep the look and feel simple and similar to other applications people have used.
I adapted Arcora's brand identity guidelines for DentistLink, making the secondary blue the primary color in Dentist Link. I worked with a flat design framework to keep the look and feel simple and similar to other applications people have used.
Playing with simple labels to distinguish where the patient was in the process.
Appointments as a new page
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Simple table interface
Consolidating the views into a single view makes it easier for care-coordinators who are dealing with a high volume of patients.
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User Testing
I planned and conducted a simple usability testing protocol and trained the Arcora team to conduct with their network of users- patients, primary care providers, dental providers and social service provider.
